Increasing access to dental health services

Caroline Russell: Several constituents have written to me to raise the issue of not being able to access NHS dental services, with some drastic home interventions being used in desperation. In light of the prediction from experts of an imminent rise in oral cancer among adults, what work is your office doing with the NHS to improve access to dental services in London?

The Mayor: I share you concern that many Londoners are still finding it difficult to access dental services.
I understand that NHS London has devised a ‘roadmap’ for the recovery of dental services following the pandemic. £50million was made available nationally in February 2022 to fund initiatives to increase access for patients and further funding will be allocated in 22/23.
In London, more than 200 practices signed up to deliver additional services, to provide both weekend and evening clinics, with an emphasis on stabilising patients dental needs rather than just providing urgent care.
Of course, supporting good oral healthcare is key. Water fluoridation reduces tooth decay among children, with greater benefits for those in more deprived areas, reducing inequalities and helping level up oral health. The new Health and Care Bill will make it simpler to expand water fluoridation schemes.
I will raise this issue further with the NHS in London.

Working with boroughs to provide affordable lateral flow tests to vulnerable Londoners

Caroline Russell: At Mayor’s Question Time on 19 May 2022, you told me my suggestion of London councils providing affordable lateral flow tests for Londoners who are cut out of the Government’s free tests was a: “cracking idea.” What work have you and your office begun with London councils on this?

The Mayor: People who have a health condition which means they're eligible for COVID-19 treatments can order free NHS lateral flow tests. Free tests are also available for NHS patient-facing staff, social care staff working in settings such as care homes and hospices, and staff in other high-risk settings such as prisons.
The need for an expansion in the availability of COVID-19 testing would be a key consideration within any contingency planning should the situation deteriorate, however, this would be done as part of nationally led policy and decision-making rather than at local authority or regional level.

Training for boroughs on local nature protection

Zack Polanski: The London Wildlife Trust said, at an Environment Committee meeting on 26 May 2022, it is working on a project with your team to review criteria for Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and provide training for boroughs. Where are the key gaps in knowledge of SINCs, and what are you doing to improve knowledge of their importance in boroughs?

The Mayor: My officers convene the London Wildlife Sites Board (LWSB) – of which LWT are a member - to provide guidance to boroughs on the selection of SINCs using the criteria in my London Environment Strategy.. The LWSB have committed to review the selection criteria to ensure they are complementary to the Local Nature Recovery Strategy that will be prepared for London and the action needed to reverse nature’s decline.
Years of cuts to spending on greenspaces and ecologist posts in the capital means that not all SINCs are managed to their full potential. My Rewild London Fund supports SINC management and includes an advisory service via LWT so that projects can access the specialist advice needed. We are working with LWT to share learning and best practice from the projects and to scope other training and support needs.

London’s Sustainable Drainage System progress

Zack Polanski: In your Transport Strategy you identify a target for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) to be built to capture an additional surface area of 50,000 square metres per year. What has been your progress on this, by year, since you were elected in 2016, and what consideration is being given to raising the target?

The Mayor: My 2018 Transport Strategy target applies to all of London’s highways, so includes those managed by both boroughs and Transport for London (TfL). Boroughs have subsequently reported to TfL on Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS) delivery through Local Implementation Plan funding.
The data in the table below is subject to change over time as borough reporting on SuDS installation in previous years is updated to reflect project changes. In addition, there may be more SuDS installed on London’s highways than is reported.
Financial year
Organisation
Area of installed SuDS catchment
Schemes
2019/20
Boroughs (13)
At least 22,437 sqm
N/A
TfL
80 sqm
Highbury Corner
2020/21
Boroughs (12)
9,715 sqm
N/A
TfL
1,750 sqm
Old Street, Elspeth Road & Rotherhithe Roundabout
Please see Mayor’s Question 2020/3847 on the impact of TfL’s funding situation on the installation of SuDS schemes across London. Mayor’s Question 2021/5082 sets out the work my surface water flooding roundtables and task and finish group are doing to improve London’s approach to surface water flood risk management, including SuDS delivery.

Councils applying for GLA funds without engagement with community groups

Zack Polanski: I have been contacted by volunteer groups who manage a range of green spaces in Hackney, and who have discovered that allegedly Hackney Council successfully applied for the GLA’s Grow Back Greener Fund in their name but without their knowledge. These applications require councils to demonstrate that they are working with community groups, so can you provide me with the evidence you received of this?

The Mayor: Applications to my Grow Back Greener Fund are open to local authorities where they are working in collaboration with one or more local community group, school or civil society organisation.
The application form requires applicants to provide information about all partner organisations, including about their historic relationship and the agreed roles and responsibilities of each partner within the proposed project. It also asks for information about how local people will be involved, through co-design, volunteering or training, details of any community consultation carried out and support from local people.
I have funded eight projects in Hackney through the 2020 and 2021 rounds of the Grow Back Greener Fund. Please contact my officers directly about this specific case and they can look into the matter and provide further information about individual projects, as required.

Support for people with monkeypox in London

Caroline Russell: According to the latest UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data, 86 per cent of monkeypox cases identified in England (132 of 153 cases) are in London residents. Given that the current NHS guidance is to isolate if you are infected with monkeypox, what support is being given to people in London who are advised to isolate?

The Mayor: Although London has had a greater proportion of monkeypox infections compared to the rest of the UK, the overall number is small and risk remains low.
Guidance is published on gov.uk to help people to look after themselves during their isolation period and protect others by reducing the risk of spread of infection. The resources on the ThriveLDN website can help support the mental wellbeing of those isolating.
Covid-19 highlighted how people can find it hard to self-isolate if financial support provided is insufficient or they are ineligible. I would urge employers to ensure affected individuals are paid in line with usual sick pay policies and allowed to work from home where possible.
Local authorities may be able to support, on a case-by-case basis, through resident support/local welfare support schemes.
Case numbers in London are being monitored by UKHSA, and this is an area that may need further action if numbers escalate.

Mentors for young people from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities (2)

Caroline Russell: Thank you for your answer to my question 2022/0992, in which you stated that all young people in need will have access to a personal mentor by 2024, and that this: “includes those young people such as Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.” What reporting will you and your office do on the progress of your promise to provide a mentor for every young Londoner, and will any data provided include a breakdown of the diversity of young people supported, including the number from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups?

The Mayor: Through the New Deal for Young People Mission, my team will be collecting headline data about the number of young people, most in need of support, who have access to a mentor. Updates, including this data, will be provided quarterly to the London Assembly.
My team will be gathering demographic data, where available, from funded programmes led by City Hall. For example, My Headstart Action, STEAM Mentoring and Mentoring Leaders programmes are gathering ethnicity group data in line with the Office for National Statistic’s guidance for England. This includes an option for participants to select the ethnicity group ‘Gypsy or Irish Traveller’.
Demographic data will be analysed and published through programme level evaluations. However, demographic data in a format which enables tracking of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller participants will not be available across all programmes delivered as part of the New Deal for Young People Mission because partner organisations have varied reporting processes.

Funding to follow the Rewild London Fund

Zack Polanski: What support will you be providing in future to help organisations who applied for, but missed out on, funding under your Rewild London Fund in February 2022?

The Mayor: 38 applications were received to my Rewild London Fund with a grant request of £1.26 million. This was over double the funding available. Applications were assessed against the criteria set out in the grants guide.
All unsuccessful applicants were provided feedback and, where relevant, were signposted to other suitable sources of funding. This included the next round of my Grow Back Greener Fund, which has £1.2 million of funding available to support London's communities to create and enhance green space and increase climate resilience. Further funding for rewilding projects will be announced later this year.
My Rewilding Taskforce is exploring the opportunities for rewilding to enhance London’s biodiversity. One of its aims is to consider how rewilding practices to support the recovery of nature could be funded in the future, recognising that more investment from Government is needed to halt the decline of biodiversity and address the ecological emergency.

Ocean Diva (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Can you confirm whether London and Partners or the GLA have in any way promoted the Ocean Diva?

The Mayor: London & Partners has promoted Ocean Diva as part of its Tourism membership scheme, of which Ocean Diva is a member, along with almost 200 organisations across the Londontourism and hospitality sector.

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan (26)

Elly Baker: In March 2012 the previous Mayor published his Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. Can you outline how Action 26 “Building on the Olympic and Paralympic legacy TfL, in partnership with the six host boroughs will further develop proposals, including considering those outlined in section 5.3 and figure 13 as well as proposals contained in SOPTL, to address convergence and its implications over the medium to long-term. These will be included as part of updating the East Sub Regional Transport Plan by March 2012” has been delivered over the past 10 years?

The Mayor: An East sub-regional transport plan update was last published in 2016. Since then my Transport Strategy has provided an updated set of policies and proposals, seeking to provide viable and attractive alternatives across East London that will allow people to reduce their dependence on cars. Transport for London (TfL) has worked closely with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) on the development of the LLDC Local Plan, which was published in July 2020 and includes a series of policies relating to transport improvements and their role in convergence. The Elizabeth Line and Barking Riverside Overground extension are two examples of major projects, which support development, regeneration and access to opportunities across East London. TfL has also delivered Cycleways across East London, including routes serving each of the host boroughs.

GLA funding and Employment Rights (4)

Len Duvall: Please outline why small organisations should be exempt from good employment practices?

The Mayor: I believe that organisations of any size should treat their employees fairly, pay them at least the real Living Wage, and exhibit good employment practices.

LLDC - public grants (1)

Nick Rogers: What is the current annual level of public grant, subsidy or funding provided to all current occupants of the LLDC site?

The Mayor: Details of current level of public grant, subsidy or funding can be found in LLDC’s current Annual Report and Accounts here.

Developing Green Skills in London (2)

Leonie Cooper: Please provide an update on the Future Gardeners programme, including aims, number of those supported through and outcomes or expected outcomes?

The Mayor: The Future Gardeners programme aims to give participants the skills to gain entry level jobs in the horticulture industry, without having any previous experience or specialist education. Participants are also introduced to key employers in the sector.
I provided funding to the programme from April 2021 to March 2022. During this period, 37 people enrolled on the course and 31 completed it. 53% of the students recruited were female, 36% were from an ethnic minority background, and 47% had a disability or long-term health condition including mental health conditions.
During the period funded, 68% of graduates are known to have gone into employment or further training. Further information about the programme can be found here: https://www.bost.org.uk/future-gardeners

Fraud (4)

Unmesh Desai: What are the profiles of fraud victims in London? Can you provide us with a breakdown by age, borough, ethnicity and income?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Economic Crime teams receive fraud allegations from Action Fraud, and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, from their system which does not record victims’ income.
This data is a count of victims prior to any assessment of viability of the case. Similarly, not all victims will be supported by the MPS in an investigation as some offences will be investigated by other forces for victims based in London – should the suspect be in that force area.
Please see attached table - for the twelve months to March 2022 - which the MPS has compiled from the postcodes of victims whose allegations have been referred to the MPS.

The Mayor: 1988_Fraud (4).xlsx

Fraud (2)

Unmesh Desai: What percentage of fraud cases that are passed on to the Metropolitan Police Service result in a positive outcome?

The Mayor: Please see the response to MQ 2022/1985

Fraud (3)

Unmesh Desai: Does the Met have dedicated staff working on fraud? If so, how many?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has several Economic Crime teams within the Central Specialist Crime Directorate.
These teams comprise of 340 posts and work to tackle fraud, money laundering and asset denial opportunities. The MPS also has 37 Cyber and 12 Proceeds of Crime champions working across Basic Command Units (BCUs). These officers act as a link between the central Economic Crime Teams and local investigators.

Greatest Failure as Mayor of London

Emma Best: What do you consider to be your single greatest failure in the role of Mayor of London?

The Mayor: Being Mayor of London is the greatest job in the world and I’m proud of my achievements during my time in office so far.
We’ve started record numbers of affordable homes,reduced violence, cleaned up our toxic air and helped Londoners gets the skills they need for good jobs.
But there is one major area where we’re struggling in London – and that’s transport funding.
Prior to the pandemic, London was the third most visited city on the planet, with a thriving tourism sector accounting for as many as one in five jobs.London makes a net contribution of £36 billion a year to the Treasury – money that is spent elsewhere in the country. But this contribution to the rest of the UK economy depends on a transport network that works for Londoners, visitors and businesses.
Without a long-term deal, TfL will be forced to move to its managed decline scenario. That would mean much more significant cuts to the bus network than those currently proposed, Tube cuts equivalent to the loss of an entire line, future improvement plans scrapped and the current network falling into disrepair.
It’s vital that the government finally provides a fair, long-term funding deal that will protect London’s transport network – not just for the sake of the capital, but for the economic wellbeing of the whole country.

Tackling Inequality

Emma Best: On 25th May 2022, you announced you were launching an action plan to help tackle inequality. Which specific inequalities will you be measuring as part of this action plan and could you please provide the data for these for each year since 2016?

The Mayor: ‘Building a Fairer City’ was launched by the London Recovery Board at City Hall on 25 May 2022. The plan sets out 14 actions that can be taken to address entrenched or emerging inequalities using the powers and influence that London’s recovery partners have available to them as employers, as service providers, as procurers of goods and services or as funders or convenors of other organisations.
The actions are spread across four priority areas which have a “multiplier effect” and therefore have the potential to have impact on a number of inequalities. These priority areas are: living standards and financial inequality; labour market inequality (including workplace discrimination); equity in public services; and civil society strength and support.
The plan sets out a range of evidence and statistics on the disproportionate impact the pandemic had on different groups and communities, across protected characteristics and equality strands. It can be accessed at https://www.london.gov.uk/coronavirus/londons-recovery-coronavirus-crisis/building-fairer-london-plan.
The plan is not intended to be prescriptive – some actions will be of greater relevance to some sectors than others. And all organisations will be at different points in their work to address inequality, with different priority areas to focus on. Members of the Recovery Board, and wider partners, will work together to drive change, hold each other to account and support improvement for Londoners.

Homes for Londoners Land Fund (6)

Emma Best: Which schemes are in the pipeline for investment by the Land Fund, and how many homes will these deliver?

The Mayor: The table below sets out projects which are being considered for investment by GLA officers.
Site
Total number of homes
Number of affordable homes
Joyce and Snells
2,212
1,400
Confidential scheme
1,758
514
St James, Hatcham
100
50
Perceval House
477
226
Cockfosters
351
132
Total
4,898
2,322
As these are pipeline projects, some projects may be removed from the pipeline as due diligence is progressed. GLA officers are conducting continued market engagement to prudentially deploy funds where needs and strategic fit are evidenced.

Monkeypox in London

Emma Best: What is your evaluation of the Monkeypox situation in London and advice to Londoners?

The Mayor: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and NHS are closely monitoring the situation in London. As of 20th June, 766 cases have been identified in England, with a significant proportion in London, though overall numbers are small and risk remains low. Cases are being told to isolate and their close contacts contacted. Detailed advice has been made available on gov.uk and NHS Choices.
Monkeypox is usually a mild illness, and unlike COVID, it requires close contact to spread and so is not easily passed on between people. However, I urge anyone experiencing symptoms, such as unusual rashes, blisters, spots or ulcers, to call their local sexual health clinic or NHS 111 as soon as possible. Monkeypox can affect anyone, however recent cases have been detected in gay, bisexual and men who have sex with men. This community in particular is being advised to be alert and call sexual health clinics if they have concerns.

Homes for Londoners Land Fund (4)

Emma Best: What is currently the total amount of money in the Land Fund? What is the source of this funding?

The Mayor: The total funding allocation for the Land Fund is £736m, of which £486m is provided from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and £250m has been allocated from GLAP resources.

Homes for Londoners Land Fund (5)

Emma Best: How much money in the Land Fund has not been invested to date?

The Mayor: The remaining funds for investment are circa £219,500,000.

London Business Hub

Krupesh Hirani: How many businesses in Brent and Harrow have accessed support from the London Business Hub so far?

The Mayor: Since our records began in November 2019, 270 businesses in Brent and Harrow have received support from the London Business Hub.
It should be noted that we do not possess borough-level information in respect of every kind of business contact with the Hub, so the total number is likely to be much higher.

Operation Sweep

Susan Hall: Please provide findings and resulting actions of the Met’s Operation Sweep which looked at evidence storage?

The Mayor: The first Operation Sweep took place in March 2022. This entailed a three-week Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) led audit of all buildings to identify and secure any exhibits which were not stored in a compliant way.
Similar to HMICFRS, the MPS encountered locations where policy was not being followed. However, some locations were in very good order with high levels of compliance. Audit of recently renovated buildings identified far fewer concerns than those encountered in older parts of the policing estate.
Going forwards a number of improvements have been put in place, including a quarterly repetition of Operation Sweep to ensure standards are maintained, regular internal audits focussed on high value items (firearms/cash/drugs), training and guidance for all officers and trialling of extended operating hours for exhibit stores to better meet demand from officers.

Tourism in Harrow

Krupesh Hirani: Can you provide a breakdown of:
a) the number of overnight stays made by tourists in Harrow over the last three years?
b) the annual spend of tourists in Harrow over the last three years?

The Mayor: Unfortunately data from the Office of National Statistics relating to overnight tourism based on the International Passenger Survey is only available at a London-wide level.

Migrants Organise Funding

Susan Hall: Who made the decision for the GLA to donate £22,500 to Migrants Organise and what was the process in making this decision? Please also specify from which budget the funding came from and what the funds are to be used for.

The Mayor: As part of the COVID-19 rough sleeping response, grants were given to a number of migrant organisations to work with Non-UK nationals in GLA hotel accommodation to ensure that as many people as possible were given routes out of rough sleeping. As part of this a grant of £22,500 was awarded to Migrants Organise in 2020 due to their unique expertise on supporting migrants with complex mental health needs to link with immigration advice and appropriate services under their Migrant Mental Capacity Advocacy Project. Following a satisfactory proposal to the GLA’s Rough Sleeping Team, the grant was awarded by the Director of Housing and Land as part of the Covid-19 Rough Sleeping Response under MD2671 COVID-19 pandemic assistance.

Planning in London

Tony Devenish: Do you support the proposal by Gareth Bacon MP to make unauthorised development a criminal offence? Do you agree that this would benefit planning in London and promote the objectives of Good Growth, and will you please raise this with London Councils?

The Mayor: I understand the frustrations felt by communities when they perceive that planning enforcement loopholes are being exploited and action is not taken swiftly. However, the planning system is complex, and the enforcement regime operates on the basis that it criminalises a failure to comply with enforcement action, rather than imposing criminal sanctions from the outset. Practically speaking, this allows a grace period for compliance, rather than criminal penalties applying immediately.
The Government’s Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill proposes a number of reforms to strengthen the planning enforcement system, although this does not include the creation of a new criminal offence for unauthorised development.
I do not support a new criminal offence which would apply to all, and criminalise those who make genuine mistakes, in what is a complex system. In my view the Government needs to do much more to address the under-resourcing of planning authorities, and that will help restore credibility and trust amongst our communities.

Police officer numbers

Susan Hall: What are you doing to ensure the Met has enough police officers?

The Mayor: As of May 2022, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has over 33,700 police officers.
I continue to call upon the Home Office to fund the officers that London needs and rigorously hold the MPS to account for their recruitment. I have provided additional funding to the MPS to enable them to recruit 1,300 more officers than would otherwise be affordable.
I am also supporting the MPS recruitment directly, providing £900k over three years for recruitment outreach, as well as engaging partners and directly with communities to raise awareness about policing in London as a career.
I have attended dedicated recruitment outreach events alongside police officers and regularly amplify calls for recruitment on behalf of the MPS. I have also supported the latest MPS recruitment TV advert which has just launched.

999 Calls

Tony Devenish: A recent investigation by The Telegraph showed that only 23% of 999 calls to the Met were answered within 60 seconds. What are you doing to resolve this issue?

The Mayor: The Home Office launched 999 league tables on 31 May 2022 as part of the government's Beating Crime Plan. The first release of this information covers the six months between November 2021 and April 2022 inclusive and is available via Police.uk.
It is not the case that the Met answered 23% of calls within 60 seconds. This figure only refers to the proportion answered between 10 and 60 seconds. The published data shows that the Met answered 70% of calls within 10 seconds and 23% of calls between 10 and 60 seconds. Together, this means the MPS answered 93% of calls within 60 seconds compared to an average across England and Wales police forces of 94%.
This is a higher proportion than in the Most Similar Forces of Greater Manchester (88%) and West Midlands (89%), yet below West Yorkshire (98%).

Metropolitan Police Response to Drug Overdoses

Krupesh Hirani: Please provide a breakdown of the number for drug overdoses that the Metropolitan Police have responded to over the last three years.

The Mayor: It is not possible to provide the information you request. Police are required to respond to illness in the street or collapses in private premises or sudden deaths. Any of these could include legal or illegal drugs, the majority will not. Police are not qualified to decide in any of these circumstances whether the person has had an overdose.

Fraud 2

Tony Devenish: Will MOPAC or the Met consider routinely publishing London fraud data on a dashboard?

The Mayor: Fraud and Cybercrime information is already published by the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau via an interactive online dashboard.
This can be accessed via the following link: https://colp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/0334150e430449cf8ac917e347897d46
This provides an overview of reporting volumes (including by police force area), reported losses, the categories of fraud/crime etc.

Small Business Enterprises

Hina Bokhari: How will you ensure that a significant proportion of the £1.3bn investment announced for small businesses on the 27 March 2022 will be going to help SMEs owned by ethnic minority Londoners?

The Mayor: The Anchor Institutions Network represents a cross-section of public sector, higher education, cultural, faith-based, and private industry bodies, who have committed to helping Londoners into good work, empowering young people to flourish, and supporting the capital’s net-zero targets.
Since the above announcement, these organisations have gone through a detailed and technical process to work out how their procurement and recruitment practices could be refocused in order to help drive London's recovery and invest money and opportunities into the communities most in need to financial support.

Data on Londoners In Debt

Hina Bokhari: Will you commission research into data on the numbers of Londoners who are in debt and the extent of this debt?

The Mayor: I commissioned a Survey of Londoners in 2018 which found 37% of adult Londoners owed money on one or more forms of debt (excluding mortgages and student loans), c.2.7 million Londoners. Of those Londoners who owed money, 24% said that keeping up with that debt was a heavy burden (c.600,000 Londoners).
I commissioned a second Survey of Londoners (with fieldwork taking place late 2021 to early 2022), which repeated these questions. We will have updated data later this year, when the results from the entire survey are published.
Though not a precise measure of the number of Londoners in debt, GLA’s cost of living polling has shown how recent events may have driven more people into debt, with 12% of adult Londoners in May 2022 saying they were using more credit or going into debt to help with cost-of-living increases.

Jobs and Skills Campaign for Adult Education (2)

Hina Bokhari: Will you commit to producing and publishing a detailed report on the successes, shortcomings and lessons of the Jobs and Skills Campaign for Adult Education, when the campaign finishes?

The Mayor: I am committed to helping Londoners gain the skills they need for life and work, and adult learning is key to my mission to help Londoners into good jobs within our city’s key sectors.
The Jobs and Skills campaign aims to raise awareness of adult learning, and to encourage Londoners to take advantage of skills opportunities funded by City Hall.
My Skills for Londoners Board is overseeing the campaign to ensure it maximises its reach and impact. Information related to the impact and evaluation of the campaign will be reported to the Board, with papers published on london.gov.uk.

Jobs and Skills Campaign for Adult Education (1)

Hina Bokhari: With reference to your answer to question 2022/1448, please outline a detailed timeline for when the Jobs and Skills Campaign will be launched and for how long it is projected to run?

The Mayor: I launched the Jobs and Skills campaign at the end of January, with a visit to Nexus Film studio to meet Londoners learning new skills that will support their careers in the capital’s creative industries.
The ‘primer’ phase of the campaign, which ran from January to April, focused on raising general awareness with a pan-London audience of London’s adult education training offer. During this time Londoners were able to see physical and digital posters across the TfL network and in selected retailers, promoting learning opportunities funded by City Hall.
The ‘active’ phase of the campaign, which ran from April to June 2022, focused on engaging those Londoners who are eligible for City Hall funded training, including unemployed and lower paid groups.
Campaign activity to date is currently being reviewed and the autumn wave of activity will be informed by an evaluation of the campaign’s performance so far. The campaign is currently due to run until March 2023. Alongside this, I am launching a community outreach programme to promote London’s skills offer to residents least engaged in learning.

Skills Bootcamps Outreach Work (2)

Hina Bokhari: What engagement work are you undertaking with (a) local authorities and (b) schools and (c) universities to promote the Skills Bootcamps courses?

The Mayor: The Skills Bootcamps for Londoners programme is aimed at adult Londoners who can take up employment immediately after completing the Skills Bootcamp and those already in work, including the self-employed. My officers work closely with London’s adult education providers, including London’s boroughs, to ensure referral routes are clear and benefits are promoted. Through my Higher Level Skills Advisory Group, I will continue to promote relevant programmes, including Skills Bootcamps, to London’s higher education providers.
Officers work closely with London’s boroughs and skills providers to deliver my Jobs and Skills campaign aimed at promoting adult learning opportunities (including Skills Bootcamps)to unemployed Londoners and those in low pay / low skilled roles.
The campaign is based on the stories of real London learners, andcase studies shared by our learning providers have been used to promote the achievements of adult education learners and create greater awareness of the benefits of adult learning.

Skills Bootcamps Outreach Work (1)

Hina Bokhari: What specific outreach work are you undertaking to ensure that the Skills Bootcamps courses, supported by £18m in funding, are promoted to Londoners?

The Mayor: My Jobs and Skills campaign, launched in January 2022, aims to promote adult learning opportunities in London, including Skills Bootcamps, to Londoners that are unemployed or in low paid or low skilled roles.
As part of this, I will shortly be launching a Community Grants programme,aimed at providing small grants to community organisations to provide targeted outreach and support to those most in need of adult education. This outreach activity will refer Londoners to adult learning opportunities,including Skills Bootcamps. My officers are also working with Jobcentre Plus to support referrals to the programme.

Skills Bootcamps Outreach Work for Digitally Excluded Londoners

Hina Bokhari: What specific outreach work are you undertaking to ensure that the Skills Bootcamps courses, supported by £18m in funding, are promoted to Londoners who are considered to be digitally excluded?

The Mayor: My Jobs and Skills campaign, launched on 31 January 2022 aims to promote adult learning opportunities in London, including Skills Bootcamps, to Londoners that are unemployed or in low paid or low skilled roles.
As part of this, I will shortly be launching a Community Grants programme,aimed at providing small grants to community organisations to provide targeted outreach and support to those most in need of adult education, including those that may be digitally excluded. This outreach activity will refer Londoners to adult learning opportunities, including Skills Bootcamps. My officers are also working with Jobcentre Plus to support referrals to the programme.

Section 60 searches in London

Caroline Russell: Could you provide details of all the stop and searches conducted under Section 60 by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) since January 2021, broken down by: a) date, b) age, c) ethnicity, d) gender, e) borough, and f) outcome of search?

The Mayor: The information requested is routinely published by the Metropolitan Police Service on the London Data Store and can be accessed by the following link:
https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/mps-stop-and-search-public-dashboard-data

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan (22)

Elly Baker: In March 2012 the previous Mayor published his Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. Can you outline how Action 22 “TfL, working with the boroughs, will encourage the uptake of delivery and servicing planning, including consolidation and out-of-hours deliveries, for existing and new developments to mitigate the delivery and servicing activity” has been delivered over the past 10 years?

The Mayor: Since 2015, Delivery and Service Plans (DSPs) have been widely adopted and updated guidance was published in 2020 to include a strong emphasis on sustainable modes. The Delivery and Service Plan Guidance sets out requirements and provides links to useful tools and templates for new developments and existing businesses to encourage sustainable and efficient deliveries.
Transport for London (TfL) encourages new developments to provide micro-consolidation facilities wherever possible as part of the DSPs that are required through the planning application process. DSPs cover loading facilities (including for out-of-hours deliveries), waste, trip reduction and consolidating deliveries. They are now applied as standard practice and submitted alongside Travel Plans and Construction Logistics Plans for all developments that meet TfL’s full Travel Plan thresholds.
TfL continues to work with London’s Business Groups to implement schemes that achieve a reduction in delivery and servicing trips through measures such as consolidation.
The TfL website also provides several deliveries toolkits that include waste consolidation and retiming deliveries (https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/deliveries-in-london/delivering-efficiently/deliveries-toolkits)

Cooling Strategy and the Elizabeth line (1)

Leonie Cooper: What is the cooling strategy for trains on the Elizabeth line?

The Mayor: The Class 345 Elizabeth line trains are fully air-conditioned. In the below ground central section stations, full height platform screen doors separate the tunnels from the platforms, preventing warmer air from within the tunnels entering the station environment. The tunnel ventilation system, including the under-platform extracts, remove warmer air from the tunnel environment, helping to maintain ambient temperatures.

Bus Fires (2)

Elly Baker: How many “Switch Mobility MetroDecker EV” were taken out of service as a result of the fire, how long were they taken out of service for and what impact on bus service was the result?

The Mayor: A total of 84 buses contracted to Transport for London were taken out of service for at least four days because of the fire at Potters Bar Bus Garage.
Four routes and three operators which normally use these buses were directly affected by the incident, with the severity of impact varying from route to route.
In addition, due to the impact on the garage, other bus routes operating from Potters Bar ran at a reduced frequency while Metroline reallocated existing vehicles and ensured drivers were appropriately trained in the use of replacement vehicles.
This affected all buses of this type across the UK.

Missing Persons

Unmesh Desai: Can you provide us with a breakdown of missing persons data – with a breakdown by borough and ethnicity – across the last three years.

The Mayor: Pease refer to the dataset attached covering missing persons by borough and ethnicity for the period 1st April 2019 to 31st March 2022. Please ensure that the Notes Page is read in conjunction with the data in the report to ensure that this is interpreted correctly.

The Mayor: 1996_Missing Persons .xlsx

Gypsy & Roma Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (1)

Sakina Sheikh: How will the GLA’s Gypsy & Roma Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment engage with communities to ensure a comprehensive review of what accommodation is needed for the GRT Community in London?

The Mayor: The assessment will rely on an extensive survey of Gypsies and Travellers in London, including those living on Gypsy and Traveller sites and those living in mainstream housing. Findings from this fieldwork will inform conclusions about accommodation need.
More broadly, the GLA worked closely with representatives of the Gypsy and Traveller community when specifying the assessment and procuring a contractor to carry out the project. Funding has been made available for work with community groups, including training community members to carry out fieldwork – an approach intended to build trust and maximise participation, so that the results are robust.

Gypsy & Roma Traveller Community

Sakina Sheikh: How does the GLA work with boroughs to support the GRT Community?

The Mayor: My teams work in a number of ways to support London’s GRT community.
The Roma Rough Sleeping Team supports people from Roma communities sleeping rough to understand and access their entitlements and find a route off the street. It includes immigration advice, employment support and Roma mediators with a strong understanding of Roma culture and language skills. It supports local authorities and services to better understand Roma clients’ needs and adopt best practice to meet these needs.
I am also supporting better provision of suitable accommodation for Gypsies and Travellers through my Affordable Homes Programme and through capital funding to help remodel existing Gypsy and Traveller sites and pitches in need of refurbishment or to build new sites.
At a local level, I will continue to encourage boroughs to plan for the needs of Gypsies and Travellers, identify suitable additional sites for pitches and make use of funding for Gypsy and Traveller accommodation.
Several boroughs and community organisations are on the Steering group for the London-wide Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment.

LPG Consultation Responses

Sakina Sheikh: Does the GLA Planning Team publish a list of the people responding to the consultations for the London Plan Guidance Documents? If not, could this be considered to improve transparency?

The Mayor: The Planning Team currently publishes a high-level summary of the numbers of responses received, and number attending its consultation events on London Plan Guidance. It sets out whether people who have submitted a response are responding as an individual or on behalf of an organisation, and the type of organisation, for example a business, campaign group, community group, Government body or agency or local authority. In addition, the names of any organisations that raise issues related to protected characteristics are provided. While we would not publish names of individuals responding to these consultations, we will in future publish the list of organisations who respond to London Plan Guidance consultations in our consultation summaries.

Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy in the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill

Sakina Sheikh: What assessment have you made of the Government’s proposal to retain the Mayoral CIL and will there be any impact on how it works in London?

The Mayor: I am extremely concerned that the new Infrastructure Levy proposed in the Bill will be more complex and less effective than the current system for securing developer contributions. This will result in lower levels of affordable housing and reduce and delay the delivery of infrastructure needed to support new development. For these reasons I support the proposal to retain the Mayoral Community Infrastructure Levy under current legislation. This will still raise funding for Crossrail and be collected by Boroughs, Mayoral Development Corporations and City of London with support from Transport for London. I will continue to raise my concerns on the Infrastructure Levy and make the case for a system that effectively secures the affordable housing and infrastructure that is crucial for London’s sustainable growth as the Bill is considered by parliament.

Visa Fees for Migrants

Sakina Sheikh: In line with City Hall’s mission to make London Is Open a successful endeavour; would the Mayor consider advocating to national government to reduce the visa fees migrants have to currently pay in order to process their application?

The Mayor: I amcommitted to supporting Londoners to access their citizenship and settlement rights, which is why I have invested almost £3 million on improving access to free immigration advice in our city.
It is unacceptable that Londoners are pushed into debt, unable to maintain their immigration status or apply for citizenship due to the Home Office’s extortionate application fees.
I’ll continue to campaign for the Government to end for-profit immigration fees, reinstate legal aid for immigration cases and provide proper and sustainable financial support to advice services.

Negotiated Stopping Protocol for GRT Community

Sakina Sheikh: What progress is the GLA making on creating a Negotiated Stopping Protocol for the Gypsy Roma Traveller Community?

The Mayor: My team is actively working to implement a negotiated stopping pilot and is working with London Gypsies and Travellers and legal experts on the draft protocol. The negotiated stopping protocol will be an important tool to support better relations between members of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities and landowners. I hope lessons from the pilot will help inform implementation of this approach across London.
While negotiated stopping is an important tool to meet the immediate needs of travelling families, we have to pursue long term and permanent provision of appropriate accommodation. The London-wide Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment my planning and housing teams have commissioned will provide robust, consistent data on the amount and types of accommodation needed, which local authorities can use to inform their Local Plans. My housing team is also working to encourage and support applications to the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 to provide additional fully equipped sites and pitches where Gypsies and Travellers can stop or live for extended periods.

Gypsy & Roma Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (3)

Sakina Sheikh: What definition of what constitutes the GRT Community will be used for the GTANA?

The Mayor: The London-wide Gypsy & Roma Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (GTANA) commissioned by the GLA will assess the accommodation needs of the following groups: English/Romany Gypsies, Irish Travellers, Travelling Showpeople, New Travellers and Eastern European Roma.
National planning policy requires planning authorities to assess only the accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers who are currently travelling, or who’ve ceased to do so recently for a few limited reasons. This approach fails to acknowledge the increasing difficulty of travelling, especially for those who live in conventional housing not out of choice, but because of a shortage of pitches. It also fails to consider ethnic identity for the purposes of equality and human rights law, which gives Gypsies and Travellers a right to culturally-appropriate housing. The London-wide GTANA will adopt a more inclusive approach by considering ethnic status and covering all those who identify as Gypsies or Travellers, regardless of their current accommodation or whether they are travelling.

Gypsy & Roma Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (2)

Sakina Sheikh: How will the GTANA be used by boroughs to ensure there are enough sites for the GRT Community across London?

The Mayor: My London-wide Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment (GTANA) will be a fundamental piece of evidence that will inform local and strategic policy development in housing and planning, including Local Plan development and cross-borough Planning Frameworks. It will provide boroughs with consistent and robust up-to-date evidence on Gypsy and Traveller accommodation needs over the next 10 years, including by accommodation type, such as transit pitches.
The GTANA is expected to support borough actions that help to meet the demonstrable need for an increased number of pitches across London. For example, it will be useful for boroughs and housing providers making applications for grant funding for development or improvement of sites for Gypsies and Travellers. Borough housing teams may also use the up-to-date figures on Gypsies and Travellers housing needs in their housing strategies.

Route to Settlement

Sakina Sheikh: In line with City Hall’s mission to make London Is Open a successful endeavour; would the Mayor consider advocating to national government to reduce the route to settlement time from over 10 years to 5 years?

The Mayor: I am committed to supporting Londoners to access their citizenship and settlement rights, which is why I have invested almost £3 million in improving access to free immigration advice in our city.
It is shameful that so many people who have made London their home are forced to endure a decade or longer of insecure status before they can apply for permanent settlement. I have repeatedly called upon the government to create shorter and more affordable routes to residency and citizenship for all Londoners and will continue to do so to ensure migrant Londoners have equal access to opportunities and can fully participate in their communities.

Immigration Health Charges

Sakina Sheikh: In line with City Hall’s mission to make London Is Open a successful endeavour; would the Mayor consider advocating to national government to remove the Immigration Health Charge?

The Mayor: London has and will continue to welcome people from across the world, and I will work tirelessly to ensure their rights are protected.The Government must work across every department to address barriers faced by migrants in accessing services, health care, education, and justice.
The Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS) effectively works as a double tax for migrant workers who in addition to paying their national insurance contributions are required to pay an additional surcharge because of their immigration status. I continue to call on the Government to scrap the discriminatory hostile environment, and this includes advocating for confirmation of a permanent end to the Immigration health charge for all migrants.
I am working with the NHS in London to ensure that all undocumented migrants can access health services, including the COVID-19 vaccines on offer. And I oppose the harmful NHS charging regulations which deter migrant Londoners from accessing treatment, so as to avoid any repeat of the Windrush scandal.

Housing acquisitions for social rent and London Affordable Rent (2)

Siân Berry: Are you doing anything to monitor housing acquisitions by local authorities for social rent and London Affordable Rent outside your Right to Buy-back fund? I If so, could you share that data with me in a suitable table format, including all the years for which you have data?

The Mayor: Outside of my Right to Buy-back programme, the GLA does not routinely collect data about local authority housing acquisitions. As such, I am unable to share this data with you.

Rebuilding Trust plan: dip sampling (3)

Caroline Russell: Thank you for your answer to my question 2022/1003. Have you now discussed findings and lessons from the review of the dip sampling of sexual misconduct and domestic abuse allegations, where those accused remain in the force, with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), and what actions have been taken?

The Mayor: My Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime has discussed the initial findings and learning from the review of the dip sampling of sexual misconduct and domestic abuse allegations with the A/Commissioner. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is continuing to work on the report but, where appropriate, is already taking action to implement the learning already uncovered.

Right to Food Campaign

Joanne McCartney: Do you support the Right to Food campaign and what can you do to promote this initiative to London Boroughs?

The Mayor: In a country as rich as the UK, no one should go hungry. I’m committed to doing everything in my power to ensure that every Londoner has access to healthy, affordable, good food - regardless of their personal circumstances.
My Food Roots programme helps food aid providers to support Londoners in sustainable and dignified ways, including by taking a cash-first approach to help resolve the reasons for food insecurity. I also work with the London Food Board on a range of issues, including recently to consider the resilience of our city’s fresh food supply. Further, through my work to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, and initiatives such as the Advice in Community Settings programme, I am investing in improving Londoner’s awareness of and access to their entitlements, including Healthy Start. This will help increase Londoners’ incomes and so their access to food.
I also support the campaign’s ask on free school meals, and have recently called on the Government to expand free school meal eligibility to include all primary school children.

Video removals

Susan Hall: For each financial year of 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 how many videos has the Met requested be removed from the internet? Please breakdown by:

• Platform, e.g. YouTube
• Reason for removal
• Successfully removed

The Mayor: The table below shows the number of video referrals and removals over the last three financial years. In the case of all referrals the reason for removal is that the content breaches the relevant platforms’ Community Guidelines, Terms and Conditions or User Agreements.
Video Removals
2019/20
2020/21
2021/22
Referred
Removed
Referred
Removed
Referred
Removed
YouTube
48
39
265
264
787
745
Snapchat
0
0
0
0
0
0
Facebook
0
0
0
0
0
0
Twitter
0
0
0
0
0
0
TikTok
0
0
0
0
0
0
Instagram
0
0
0
0
0
0
Other Social Media Platforms
0
0
0
0
0
0
Music Streaming Platforms
0
0
0
0
0
0
Music Companies
0
0
0
0
0
0
Total
48
39
265
265
787
745

Ukranian Refugees

Joanne McCartney: How many Ukranian refugees are now living in London? What proportion are still housed in temporary hotel/hostel accommodation?

The Mayor: As of June 14 at least 7,389 people have arrived in London through the Ukraine Sponsorship (Homes for Ukraine Scheme), with more than 11,000 visas granted. There are many more who have arrived under the Ukraine Family Scheme or who extended their stay under the Ukraine Extension Scheme however we do not have regional data on these schemes.
Data covering 24 February – 3 June shows that 263 Ukrainian households across both the Family Scheme and the Sponsorship Scheme were owed a homelessness prevention or relief duty. Of these households, 125 were recorded as being in temporary accommodation, the remainder either had their homelessness prevented through mediation or re-matching, or were offered settled accommodation.

Operation Olympus

Susan Hall: Please can you give an update on the Met’s Operation Olympus? (Post Office scandal investigation)

The Mayor: Operation Olympus remains a live criminal investigation and neither I nor the MPS can provide an update.

London business sectors 2

Susan Hall: For each financial year of 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22, what are the number of employed in London broken down by the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors?

The Mayor: Data is available up to 2020/21 from the Annual Population Survey. The available data is below:
Table 1: London employment in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, 2015/16 to 2020/2021
Sector
2015/16
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
Primary
17,000
13,900
10,600
16,100
13,400
12,600
Secondary
501,100
487,200
493,500
479,700
520,100
398,700
Tertiary
3,861,500
3,979,400
4,031,100
4,096,000
4,155,700
4,266,200
Total
4,379,600
4,480,500
4,535,200
4,591,800
4,689,200
4,677,500
Source: ONS NOMIS, Annual Population Survey
This aggregates published ONS sector breakdowns. The definition adopted for the aggregated sector breakdown is:
Table 2: Sector breakdown of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors
ONS sector
Aggregated sector
Agriculture
Primary
Mining and quarrying
Primary
Manufacturing
Secondary
Electricity and gas etc
Secondary
Water supply etc
Secondary
Construction
Secondary
Wholesale and retail
Tertiary
Transport
Tertiary
Accommodation and food services
Tertiary
Information and communication
Tertiary
Finance
Tertiary
Real estate
Tertiary
Professional services
Tertiary
Administrative and support services
Tertiary
Public administration
Tertiary
Education
Tertiary
Health
Tertiary
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Tertiary
Other services
Tertiary
Activities of households
Tertiary
Activities of extraterritorial organisations
Tertiary
Source: GLA

ATMs 1

Susan Hall: For each financial year of 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22, how many ATM machines have been broken into/removed (unauthorised) in London?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) advise that there is no separate property type code that allows to identify theft of, or from, ATMs. Therefore, it is not possible to provide this information.

Enfield Pride

Joanne McCartney: Will you join me in welcoming Enfield’s first Pride celebrations, which are to be held on 18 and 19 June at the Dugdale Arts Centre?

The Mayor: It is great to see community Pride celebrations taking place across the city, particularly in this 50th anniversary year of the London Pride Parade. I would like to wish the organisers of Enfield Pride every success with their inaugural Pride event.

Enfield Jobs Fair

Joanne McCartney: Will you join me in welcoming Enfield Council’s inaugural Create Enfield Careers Fair, which is taking place at the Millfield Theatre on 28 and 29 June? It is for 16 to 19 year-olds who are interested in learning more about the range of creative careers available and future opportunities in the borough and across London. Do you agree with me that it is important that local authorities in London engage with young people to help them find jobs and achieve their career aspirations?

The Mayor: I welcome Enfield Council’s Create Enfield Careers Fair, not least given how important our creative sector is to London’s economy and the opportunities that exist within it for young people. Despite the pandemic, some areas of the creative sector are performing relatively strongly and have growth potential.
My Mayor’s Academies Programme is supporting Londoners to learn skills for good jobs in the capital’s creative sector. Further information on the creative hubs can be found here.I will ask officers to share details of the event with hubs to raise awareness of local opportunities.
I agree that it is important for local authorities to engage with young people in relation to careers. The No Wrong Door approach developed as part of London’s Good Work for All mission and our Careers Hubs will allow London’s sub-regional partnerships – including Local London in Enfield - to better engage with their residents, including young Londoners.

LLDC - revenue generation

Nick Rogers: What is the total amount of revenue generated from the LLDC site, from its conception to today, broken down by type – e.g. commercial etc?

The Mayor: Information on the revenue generated from LLDC from its inception to the present day can be found in LLDC’s Annual Report and Accounts here.

LLDC - council tax and business rates

Nick Rogers: What figures exist regarding council tax and business rate revenue generated as a direct result of the establishment and operation of LLDC, from its conception to today?

The Mayor: Additional council tax and business rates that is being generated within the LLDC area (since 2005) is estimated to be c£70m per year. LLDC has previously forecasted that by 2039-40 this will increase to c£225 million.

ATMs 2

Susan Hall: For each financial year of 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 how many ATMs were there in London?

The Mayor: The GLA has been unable to obtain data about ATMs in London and therefore does not hold this information.
However, the House of Commons published a report in April on access to cash, banks and ATMs Statistics on access to cash, bank branches and ATMs - House of Commons Library (parliament.uk). The supporting documentation includes some constituency level data.

Risk Assessments of Bus Fleet

Nick Rogers: Can you please confirm that the LFB has contacted TfL about the fire at the Potters Bar Bus Garage and is undertaking risk assessments of the electric and hybrid bus fleet?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade has contacted Transport for London (TfL) to arrange a meeting to discuss fire safety arrangements at the various bus garages around London following the fire at Potters Bar Bus Garage. Vehicles are not covered by the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and the bus operating companies, supported by TfL, are responsible for carrying out and completing the risk assessment when buses may be parked at their depots.

Renters’ Reform Bill

Sem Moema: How will the Renters’ Reform Bill announced in the recent Queen’s Speech help Londoners?

The Mayor: The government has finally published its white paper on tenancy reform, A fairer private rented sector, more than three years after it was initially promised. Though I am glad to see so much of my London Model of tenancy reform incorporated, including the long-awaited commitment to end ‘no-fault’ evictions, there is still no promise of action on the spiralling cost of rents, which is the most pressing issue facing Londoners.
Reducing unwanted moves within the market, strengthening protections against illegal eviction, creating a robust PRS ombudsman to hold landlords accountable, and introducing a national landlord register are all measures which will benefit Londoners and help to create a fairer market. I look forward to working with the government to introduce them as soon as possible.

LLDC - employers

Nick Rogers: Can you provide a list of individual employers on the LLDC site by number of posts/roles?

The Mayor: Under the stewardship of the LLDC, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has become an important business, cultural and education district with businesses of many shapes and sizes spanning the entire spectrum of the UK economy’s key sectors. With hundreds of firms – from SMEs to major corporations – operating on and around the Park, the LLDC does not collect or hold information on staff numbers and roles for individual employers as it does not have either the legal mandate nor the internal resources to do so.

LLDC - job creation

Nick Rogers: What is the total number of jobs created by the site LLDC, divided into public, private and third sectors?

The Mayor: To date, LLDC has supported the delivery of c25,000 jobs on and around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park most of which are located at the two new business districts at Here East on the Park and at International Quarter London (outside of the Park but within LLDC’s Mayoral Development Corporation area), as well as other jobs created on the Park itself, its venues and neighbourhoods.
Here East and International Quarter London host a wide variety of tenants, offering jobs across the public, private and third sectors. A full breakdown cannot be provided as LLDC does not hold this information but more information on the range of tenants at Here East – which has c4,500 employees across its range of sub-tenants at present – can be found here: https://hereeast.com/whos-here/
Tenants at IQL include Transport for London, the Financial Conduct Authority, Cancer Research UK, Unicef, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Insolvency Service, British Council, the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority and LLDC itself. LLDC currently has 185 employees.

LLDC - Planning Decisions Committee

Nick Rogers: Can you detail the process for the appointment of Members to the LLDC’s Planning Decisions Committee?

The Mayor: LLDC’s Planning Decisions Committee comprises three Legacy Corporation Board members, four independent members and five local Councillors from the four neighbouring boroughs to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park (two from the London Borough of Newham, and one from each of the London Boroughs of Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest).
The four independent members are appointed through a formal recruitment process, which seeks members with relevant expertise in development, construction, design and urban regeneration.
Appointment to the LLDC’s committees are made by the LLDC Board, subject to my approval under the Localism Act 2011 to appoint anyone who is not a Legacy Corporation Board member onto a committee.

London National Park City (2)

Leonie Cooper: How does London’s National Park City status help London's councils to maintain commons, metropolitan open land and other open spaces?

The Mayor: National Park City status helps London’s councils by promoting the importance of the protection and enhancement of green spaces, increasing recognition and understanding of the value of London’s natural assets and by encouraging a commitment to better stewardship. It also encourages Londoners to get involved in looking after their local green spaces through programmes like Grow Back Greener and Grow Together, a community-led programme to help tackle climate and socialinjustice in the capital.
To support London’s National Park City status I have created opportunities for London’s councils and other civil society organisations to maintain the city’s green spaces through grants such as my Rewild London Fund, which has awarded £600,000 to projects that will help improve the management of green spaces to support biodiversity.

London National Park City (1)

Leonie Cooper: Please provide an update on the work to maintain and improve London’s status as a National Park City?

The Mayor: Since 2016, I have invested over £20m in greening London: planting 429,000 trees, improving over 500 hectares of green space, and funding over 350 community projects. My new London Plan also provides strong protections for the Green Belt, Metropolitan Open Land and other open space, and introduces the Urban Greening Factor to ensure major new developments include greening such as green roofs and trees.
I continue to support a greener London through my grant programmes Rewild London, Grow Back Greener and Green and Resilient Spaces Fund. .For example, my Rewild London Fund has awarded grants to 19 projects across the city which will restore or create 250 hectares of priority habitat, the equivalent of ten St James’ Parks. I am also continuing to invest in tree planting in the capital and to greening the public realm. My Rewilding Taskforce is exploring the opportunities for rewilding to enhance London’s biodiversity.

Pupils Infrastructure Jobs Scheme

Hina Bokhari: Your programme to get pupils interested in infrastructure jobs will be supported by a change in mindset, according to your press release on 18 May 2022. How will you evaluate the extent to which mindsets actually change over the course of the next five years?

The Mayor: Research shows that children from as young as five have ingrained stereotypical views about jobs people do based on their gender, ethnicity and social background. Most children’s career aspirations are based on family, friends and the media, with less than one per cent knowing about a job from someone visiting their school. The Building Future London primary school outreach programme is seeking to change that by challenging stereotypes, broadening horizons and ultimately changing mindsets.
As part of the programme, an independent research organisation has been appointed to help evaluate the impact on pupils participating in the programme including capturing information on their job aspirations.
Working with the schools, we will look at how Year 6 pupils can feed their learnings into their Key Stage 3 transitions goals. Registered schools will also have access to ongoing programmes and a portal hosted by Education and Employers – the contractor delivering the programme - which provides support for further career-related learning in the infrastructure and construction sectors.

Social landlords retrofitting homes to meet Net Zero targets

Hina Bokhari: The London Tenants Federation recently published principles and guidance for social landlords around undertaking net-zero works to their homes. This includes making sure no costs are passed on to any social tenants whose homes require retrofitting, fire safety works or day-to-day repairs related to net zero. The Mayor has stated his new Green Bond programme will be focussed on retrofitting London buildings in order to move towards net zero. Will this funding be available for social landlords to apply for, as a way to ensure costs are not passed on to innocent social tenants?

The Mayor: I am encouraged to see that the London Tenants Federation has developed principles and guidance to support social landlords on retrofitting homes as part of getting to net-zero.
My Green Bond is aiming to unlock £500m of finance to invest in the vital zero-carbon projects that London needs. Retrofitting of buildings will be an eligible theme within the investment framework, and social housing providers will be eligible to receive finance from the bond.
However, as this is not a grant programme the financing costs will need to be met by social housing providers from their budgets. I continue to lobby government for increased certainty around quantum and timetables associated with grant funding for social housing retrofit schemes such as through their Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund

TfL Commercial Property Company (1)

Sakina Sheikh: What were the reasons for the decision to establish a TfL Commercial Property Company; and will this centralised model more effective than what has passed?

The Mayor: I am committed to putting Transport for London (TfL) land to better use, building both affordable and market homes, and generating a long-term revenue stream.
TfL has established a commercial property company, TTL Properties Limited (TTLP) which will deliver that objective, and TTLP is currently on site building 1,700 homes, half of which are affordable, with a further 2,400 homes scheduled to come forward this year. This is vastly more than was delivered under the previous Mayor.
The formation of TTLP was agreed by TfL and the Government as part of the June 2021 funding settlement to deliver housing in high demand areas and provide an increased revenue stream to TfL. TTLP will utilise commercial funding to deliver housing and will be able to play an increasing part in our record-breaking delivery of genuinely affordable homes in London.

Proposed Development by the City of London Corporation on Land at Sydenham Hill Estate, Sydenham Hill

Caroline Pidgeon: You have previously stated in relation to this application that it does not meet the planning criteria to be referred directly to you. However the planning application does involve the provision of a GLA grant which appeared to involve a template contract being signed by the Corporation of London and the Greater London Authority as confirmed in the Freedom of Information request MGLA240820-1964. What assurances can you provide that the conditions set with the provision of a GLA grant and contract have been fully met?

The Mayor: As you likely know, this scheme is currently subject to a judicial review. I am fully committed to this scheme to ensure delivery of over 100 homesfor social rentwhichwillprovidean affordableandsecure home tohundreds of people on the housing waiting list, including many homeless families trapped in often overcrowded temporary accommodation. Delays to this scheme are extremely disappointing as this will result in families being homeless for longer.
The process to allocate Affordable Housing Programme grant is separate from the planning process. There is a standard template grant contract that the City of London has signed with the GLA. My officers are working closely with the City of London to ensure conditions of the grant are met through regular monitoring meetings.

Grow Back Greener Fund and community support

Zack Polanski: What steps are taken to determine community support before announcing funding awards for investment in green spaces, such as those awarded from the Grow Back Greener Fund?

The Mayor: The Grow Back Greener Fund supports my commitment to help local communities, civil society organisations and environmental groups to create or enhance green space and climate resilience in their local areas. Rounds one and two have supported London’s communities and grassroots organisations to deliver almost 80 projects to improve their local environment.
It’s a requirement of the fund that projects involve Londoners in making the city greener. The application and assessment process prioritises projects that are led and co-designed by local communities and residents. Potential applicants are required to set out how local people already support or will participate in the project, for example through co-design, volunteering or training.
The assessment process also prioritises projects that are led by, or will work with, Londoners who are less likely to access green space, including Black, Asian and minority ethnic Londoners, lower-income Londoners and people aged 65 and over.

The Energy Cap and London (1)

Leonie Cooper: How many Londoners do you anticipate will benefit from the £43m you are putting into addressing fuel poverty amongst Londoners?

The Mayor: My Warmer Homes programme is a key component of my response to the cost-of-living crisis facing London households, and is my biggest ever investment in supporting fuel poor homes.
The programme is expected to benefit at least 3,205 low- income London households and will install measures such as solid wall insulation, heat pumps, solar panels and more that will help address fuel poverty.

Impact of Alternative and Potentially Unsafe Home Heating Methods

Hina Bokhari: What outreach work is the London Fire Brigade and City Hall undertaking around the potential increases in fires as a result of rising energy costs and people using alternative and potentially unsafe ways of heating their homes?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) is actively working to keep abreast on the issues that may relate to the cost of living, working closely with the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Home Safety Committee to proactively support the national fire prevention work. To date, LFB has worked to raise awareness of the risk of potentially unsafe ways of heating homes, with media releases featuring both within London and in national news outlets. Further work is scheduled for autumn to coincide with the expected drop in temperature.

Grenfell and its Impact on London’s Muslim Community

Hina Bokhari: What outreach work is the London Fire Brigade undertaking with London’s Muslim community, particularly those impacted by the Grenfell fire, given the significant number of Muslims directly impacted by the tragedy?

The Mayor: The London Fire Commissioner and I recognise that the Grenfell Tower fire had a disproportionate effect on the Muslim community. London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) Community Engagement team has been working with the Al-Manaar Cultural Heritage Centre in North Kensington, East London Mosque in Tower Hamlets and most recently the Old Kent Road Mosque to build and strengthen relationships with London’s Muslim communities. Staff from across the Brigade have taken part in accredited Muslim awareness courses delivered by East London Mosque and attended several Iftar meals and Eid celebrations during Ramadan.
As part of the Brigade’s consultation on its Community Risk Management Plan engagement is taking place with Muslim woman and young people to hear their views. The Brigade will continue to have conversations with faith leaders to help increase its understanding and engage Muslim communities, but also recognises there is more work to do to re-build trust in the aftermath of the tragedy.

Mental Health Awareness Training in the LFB

Hina Bokhari: Given the poor voluntary uptake of mental health awareness training in the London Fire Brigade will you agree to make this training mandatory?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB)’s new face-to-face training course ‘Recognising and Managing Stress Anxiety and Depression’ (SAD) went live in April 2022 and is mandatory for all staff with a people management responsibility. LFB’s online “Mental Health Awareness” training package is the mandatory pre-learning requirement for attendance on this course and so all people managers are obliged to complete this prior to undertaking the SAD course.
At present staff that do not have a people management responsibility are not required to complete the Mental Health Awareness learning. They are, however, strongly encouraged by their managers to make use of the available online learning to better understand how mental ill health could affect them. Officers are continuing to monitor uptake and if this remains low, further engagement with staff will follow later in 2022 and a decision made as to whether the training should be made mandatory for all staff.

Community Energy and London (2)

Leonie Cooper: Beyond the recently announced round of successful London Community Energy Fund (LCEF) bids, what support will you be offering community energy projects to ensure that they are able to continue with their work?

The Mayor: I remain committed to supporting community energy across the capital. In addition to the London Community Energy Fund, I am supporting Community Energy London to facilitate joint working between community energy groups with other shared-interest groups and to demonstrate the opportunities for future community energy projects.
The Greater London Authority is continuing to engage with boroughs to support community energy projects, including through my Future Neighbourhoods 2030 programme, and is surveying community energy groups to understand what future support they need in order to continue their work.

Community Energy and London (1)

Leonie Cooper: With the cost of living crisis impacting on the cost of replacement parts for solar panels and other forms of renewable energy, what assessment has been made of how this might impact on London’s community energy projects?

The Mayor: We estimate that the cost of retrofit measures increased by ten to fifteen percent in 2021 and we assume similar rises in the costs for solar PV and other forms of renewable energy. Community energy groups applying to the London Community Energy Fund have reported that solar PV installation costs have risen after receiving initial quotes from installers. However, gas and electricity costs have also risen, making supply from renewable community energy projects more attractive.
We have not yet received notification of any increases to payback periods stopping community energy projects from going ahead. My team will review assessments by industry experts and continue to work with community energy groups through my London Community Energy Fund to identify trends that could impact business cases for projects in London.

Tube Noise (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Please set out which sections of the London Underground have benefited from grinding of the railway lines to help reduce noise levels in the last six months. Please also set out the specific geographical locations that will benefit from grinding over the next six months.

The Mayor: While the primary purpose of rail grinding on the Tube network is safety and operational reliability by managing rail defects, and maximising asset life, it is also used for the purpose of noise reduction.
The requested information is in the attached spreadsheet. Please note that the rail grinding programme for the next six months is still provisional (and TfL also expects additional sites to be added) and remains subject to change dependent on operational requirements.
Rail grinding for the purpose of noise reduction is reviewed in order to ensure benefits are maximised. Where rail roughness levels are higher, the benefits of rail grinding are likely to be greater in terms of noise reduction.

The Mayor: 1791 ATTACHMENT.xlsx

London’s Adult Education Budget and Low-Carbon Jobs (1)

Leonie Cooper: What assessment has been made of skills gaps in London’s low carbon economy? Which specific trades or skills most urgently need new or retrained personnel?

The Mayor: The Skills for Londoners Board – London’s Skills Advisory Panel – is responsible for producing our annual Local Skills Report, setting out the skills landscape for London. The latest report was published in February 2022. It drew on GLA and wider research to describe the main skills and employment challenges facing London’s green economy.
The report highlighted particular challenges in finding suitably skilled candidates for skilled trades positions, such as electricians and building trades. Cross-cutting skills – such as STEM, project management and digital skills – are also required in sectors with a key role to play in the green economy. These demands could add to existing gaps in areas like digital skills.
The GLA has also commissioned a new report on London’s Low Carbon Environmental Goods and Services sectors. This update is due to be published in summer 2022 and will set out the main skills needs within these sectors in more detail.

Social and Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund

Anne Clarke: How many grants have been made from these funds to date? Please provide a breakdown since the funds began, showing the size of grant; social or private residential; and month of grant award.

The Mayor: As of 14 June 2022, 110 grant payments have been made from the Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund. In total, £193,545,151 has been paid out to date. It should be noted that grant is paid in two tranches for this programme – 80 per cent and 20 per cent.
As of 16 June 2022, 247 grant payments have been made from the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund. In total, £74,624,528 has been paid out to date. It should be noted that most buildings under this programme follow a monthly payment structure.
Please see table below for a breakdown of grant paid.
Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund
Payment amount (£)
Date of payment authorisation
277,842.00
Jan 29, 2019
1,967,170.00
Feb 8, 2019
7,610,557.00
Feb 14, 2019
5,556,092.00
Feb 14, 2019
1,265,600.00
Feb 25, 2019
1,533,820.00
Mar 15, 2019
663,718.00
Mar 15, 2019
663,718.00
Mar 15, 2019
13,091,657.00
Mar 18, 2019
1,794,918.00
Mar 28, 2019
324,543.00
Mar 28, 2019
633,606.00
Mar 29, 2019
276,242.00
May 10, 2019
3,028,886.00
Apr 18, 2019
359,650.00
May 29, 2019
678,305.00
May 8, 2019
513,030.00
May 8, 2019
785,957.00
May 15, 2019
1,841,562.00
Jun 7, 2019
844,872.00
Dec 20, 2019
1,124,949.00
Dec 19, 2019
4,847,856.00
Dec 18, 2019
89,912.00
Dec 13, 2019
826,553.00
Nov 27, 2019
2,046,413.00
Nov 12, 2019
242,894.00
Nov 7, 2019
332,181.00
Nov 1, 2019
332,181.00
Nov 1, 2019
8,985,065.00
Oct 29, 2019
332,181.00
Oct 16, 2019
1,328,722.00
Oct 16, 2019
1,328,722.00
Oct 15, 2019
1,328,722.00
Oct 15, 2019
141,837.00
Oct 9, 2019
2,399,994.00
Oct 4, 2019
2,399,994.00
Oct 4, 2019
2,399,993.00
Oct 4, 2019
388,993.00
Oct 1, 2019
266,266.00
Mar 11, 2020
4,740,146.00
Mar 6, 2020
826,553.00
Mar 5, 2020
837,066.00
Feb 5, 2020
826,553.00
Feb 5, 2020
505,514.00
Jan 23, 2020
730,991.00
Jan 23, 2020
128,258.00
Jan 23, 2020
1,944,327.00
Aug 14, 2019
2,619,090.00
Jul 5, 2019
567,350.00
Jul 5, 2019
1,378,865.00
Jul 18, 2019
93,584.00
Jul 18, 2019
491,793.00
Jul 19, 2019
382,284.00
Apr 23, 2020
85,525.00
Jun 3, 2020
328,221.00
Jun 3, 2020
308,583.00
Jun 8, 2020
1,726,003.00
Sep 30, 2020
84,634.00
Sep 23, 2020
393,546.00
Sep 8, 2020
987,501.00
Aug 18, 2020
1,010,044.00
Aug 18, 2020
10,169.00
Aug 6, 2020
45,618.00
Jul 23, 2020
2,294,445.00
Jul 2, 2020
580,576.00
Dec 23, 2020
517,709.00
Dec 23, 2020
2,380,000.00
Feb 16, 2021
1,002,458.00
Mar 10, 2021
155,089.00
Mar 24, 2021
588,396.00
Mar 26, 2021
144,044.00
Mar 26, 2021
3,588,224.00
Mar 30, 2021
165,930.00
Mar 30, 2021
383,455.00
Mar 30, 2021
165,930.00
Mar 30, 2021
103,440.00
Apr 15, 2021
588,396.00
Apr 28, 2021
144,044.00
Apr 28, 2021
459,841.00
Jun 18, 2021
8,657,574.00
Sep 10, 2021
356,052.00
Sep 30, 2021
316,403.00
Sep 20, 2021
145,406.00
Nov 17, 2021
163,527.00
Nov 17, 2021
2,185,646.00
Dec 16, 2021
1,731,448.00
Dec 16, 2021
893,187.00
Dec 21, 2021
211,218.00
Feb 4, 2022
206,638.00
Feb 4, 2022
206,638.00
Feb 4, 2022
206,638.00
Feb 4, 2022
244,318.00
Mar 11, 2022
347,598.00
Mar 12, 2022
426,712.00
Mar 12, 2022
1,933,417.00
Mar 12, 2022
12,739,389.00
Mar 17, 2022
13,112,546.00
Mar 17, 2022
13,326,775.00
Mar 17, 2022
14,004,582.00
Mar 17, 2022
420,935.00
May 7, 2022
558,790.00
May 7, 2022
69,501.00
May 12, 2022
2,055,881.00
May 17, 2022
2,055,881.00
May 17, 2022
2,055,882.00
May 17, 2022
1,113,696.00
May 17, 2022
1,113,696.00
May 17, 2022
1,113,696.00
May 17, 2022
138,472.00
May 25, 2022
2,263,641.00
Jun 8, 2022
Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund
Payment amount (£)
Date of payment authorisation
49,496.00
03 February 2020
200,631.00
14 April 2020
896,737.00
14 April 2020
191,748.00
14 April 2020
25,104.00
16 April 2020
211,821.00
22 May 2020
60,000.00
24 June 2020
409,384.00
01 July 2020
12,563.00
03 July 2020
209,382.00
03 July 2020
160,000.00
16 July 2020
19,000.00
20 July 2020
274,822.00
27 July 2020
202,574.00
26 August 2020
141,400.00
15 September 2020
194,841.00
28 September 2020
87,973.00
27 October 2020
313,654.00
28 October 2020
606,704.00
11 November 2020
429,000.00
22 November 2020
154,978.00
27 November 2020
140,530.00
11 December 2020
429,780.00
17 December 2020
119,920.00
21 December 2020
393,143.00
23 December 2020
400,000.00
06 January 2021
773,872.00
06 January 2021
78,004.00
07 January 2021
48,717.00
19 January 2021
569,928.00
20 January 2021
76,721.00
02 February 2021
16,645.00
05 February 2021
42,364.00
10 February 2021
50,122.00
11 February 2021
296,996.00
11 February 2021
175,678.00
11 February 2021
16,133.00
11 February 2021
38,298.00
11 February 2021
47,767.00
11 February 2021
7,117.00
11 February 2021
17,219.00
11 February 2021
104,911.00
12 February 2021
491,348.00
18 February 2021
181,811.00
18 February 2021
71,731.00
23 February 2021
128,737.00
25 February 2021
28,061.00
02 March 2021
119,802.00
19 March 2021
229,933.00
19 March 2021
110,557.00
19 March 2021
113,315.00
23 March 2021
57,718.00
24 March 2021
486,220.00
26 March 2021
408,133.00
30 March 2021
411,243.00
30 March 2021
238,772.00
09 April 2021
87,823.00
21 April 2021
524,280.00
22 April 2021
49,061.00
26 April 2021
37,477.00
28 April 2021
147,108.00
29 April 2021
195,903.00
05 May 2021
171,394.00
06 May 2021
57,800.00
06 May 2021
439,000.00
10 May 2021
3,054,706.00
14 May 2021
234,719.00
20 May 2021
640,155.00
21 May 2021
270,742.00
21 May 2021
45,100.00
22 May 2021
55,400.00
24 May 2021
160,189.00
26 May 2021
109,596.00
03 June 2021
29,142.00
03 June 2021
151,808.00
03 June 2021
104,057.00
08 June 2021
242,312.00
10 June 2021
217,896.00
10 June 2021
653,892.00
10 June 2021
722,234.00
10 June 2021
214,509.00
15 June 2021
540,752.00
15 June 2021
184,050.00
21 June 2021
88,000.00
21 June 2021
971,835.00
23 June 2021
36,540.00
23 June 2021
295,500.00
23 June 2021
189,704.00
23 June 2021
280,000.00
23 June 2021
103,889.00
25 June 2021
173,869.00
08 July 2021
29,443.00
08 July 2021
156,612.00
14 July 2021
250,560.00
19 July 2021
557,934.00
21 July 2021
112,461.00
21 July 2021
99,144.00
21 July 2021
104,251.00
21 July 2021
301,750.00
21 July 2021
51,411.00
21 July 2021
74,093.00
21 July 2021
52,045.00
21 July 2021
47,339.00
21 July 2021
200,939.00
22 July 2021
76,445.00
22 July 2021
268,384.00
23 July 2021
225,152.00
23 July 2021
98,336.00
29 July 2021
157,345.00
02 August 2021
39,042.00
09 August 2021
118,254.00
09 August 2021
44,340.00
19 August 2021
1,478,152.00
20 August 2021
504,627.00
20 August 2021
625,538.00
24 August 2021
1,007,969.00
24 August 2021
104,896.00
26 August 2021
316,107.00
27 August 2021
53,697.00
03 September 2021
103,114.00
07 September 2021
79,367.00
08 September 2021
348,000.00
10 September 2021
118,574.00
15 September 2021
326,796.00
15 September 2021
28,035.00
17 September 2021
631,964.00
17 September 2021
496,415.00
24 September 2021
372,572.00
27 September 2021
59,827.00
27 September 2021
538,554.00
27 September 2021
65,955.00
27 September 2021
1,425,239.00
12 October 2021
598,835.00
12 October 2021
457,867.00
13 October 2021
33,954.00
13 October 2021
90,905.00
13 October 2021
231,154.00
14 October 2021
292,717.00
26 October 2021
473,140.00
26 October 2021
98,446.00
28 October 2021
296,609.00
29 October 2021
3,726,434.00
02 November 2021
66,911.00
08 November 2021
893,811.00
11 November 2021
55,221.00
17 November 2021
140,578.00
18 November 2021
245,888.00
23 November 2021
226,637.00
25 November 2021
1,097,986.00
25 November 2021
48,340.00
30 November 2021
45,442.00
30 November 2021
135,254.00
02 December 2021
363,071.00
03 December 2021
1,759,156.00
07 December 2021
77,037.00
07 December 2021
155,508.00
10 December 2021
24,574.00
15 December 2021
165,379.00
15 December 2021
14,731.00
16 December 2021
25,572.00
16 December 2021
36,958.00
16 December 2021
13,370.00
16 December 2021
14,039.00
16 December 2021
467,265.00
16 December 2021
93,366.00
17 December 2021
239,206.00
17 December 2021
1,035,283.00
17 December 2021
620,348.00
17 December 2021
312,799.00
17 December 2021
19,895.00
17 December 2021
99,609.00
17 December 2021
99,388.00
17 December 2021
48,030.00
17 December 2021
1,234,974.00
17 December 2021
20,800.00
17 December 2021
333,854.00
17 December 2021
201,121.00
21 December 2021
33,157.00
22 December 2021
1,160,204.00
23 December 2021
623,806.00
11 January 2022
135,156.00
13 January 2022
1,060,598.00
19 January 2022
249,545.00
21 January 2022
290,184.00
25 January 2022
324,124.00
25 January 2022
186,435.00
02 February 2022
78,952.00
02 February 2022
60,260.00
15 February 2022
167,426.00
17 February 2022
59,475.00
18 February 2022
407,692.00
18 February 2022
602,647.00
24 February 2022
389,708.00
24 February 2022
143,017.00
28 February 2022
770,726.00
28 February 2022
173,368.00
04 March 2022
1,529,898.00
07 March 2022
172,340.00
09 March 2022
368,783.00
09 March 2022
752,481.00
10 March 2022
25,247.00
10 March 2022
152,083.00
14 March 2022
30,294.00
14 March 2022
155,586.00
18 March 2022
565,757.00
18 March 2022
73,486.00
22 March 2022
570,276.00
23 March 2022
137,462.00
23 March 2022
140,962.00
23 March 2022
72,600.00
24 March 2022
315,166.00
25 March 2022
115,278.00
28 March 2022
1,294,694.00
30 March 2022
258,296.00
05 April 2022
122,071.00
06 April 2022
406,845.00
20 April 2022
223,983.00
20 April 2022
600,447.00
20 April 2022
165,235.00
21 April 2022
233,957.00
22 April 2022
1,173,858.00
22 April 2022
112,830.00
22 April 2022
180,562.00
25 April 2022
111,338.00
25 April 2022
473,678.00
11 May 2022
363,179.00
11 May 2022
149,255.00
11 May 2022
63,671.00
11 May 2022
160,957.00
11 May 2022
285,264.00
12 May 2022
91,468.00
16 May 2022
114,878.00
17 May 2022
153,589.00
18 May 2022
327,795.00
20 May 2022
119,687.00
24 May 2022
81,869.00
24 May 2022
389,755.00
27 May 2022
101,153.00
30 May 2022
955,543.00
01 June 2022
88,385.00
08 June 2022
56,116.00
09 June 2022
171,398.00
09 June 2022
500,593.00
15 June 2022
423,526.00
15 June 2022
291,038.00
15 June 2022
360,460.00
16 June 2022
187,336.00
17 June 2022

Radicalisation in Prisons (2)

Unmesh Desai: In 2020, you warned that prisons are ‘warehouses where people are radicalised more or learn more things from a university of crime rather than being rehabilitated and punished’. Has the Government made enough progress on improving prisons in London since then and if not, what more needs to be done?

The Mayor: Some progress is being made by central government and the recent Prison Strategy consultation response outlines more plans to improve security and further links to work and employment after release, but much more still needs to be done, especially in London. The huge increase in prison violence (a 268% increase in violence to staff between 2009-19), over-crowding and poor facilities in London prisons remain significant problems. There is also a consistent lack of investment in programmes to reduce the risk of violence and reoffending following release.
I will continue to build on the success of the recently completed Prison Pathfinder pilot, to ensure that those who pose the highest risk of violence have effective work done in custody to protect the public. My report on Countering Violent Extremism in London, ‘A Shared Endeavour’, found that radicalisation in prisons remains a key concern. I am pleased that the Ministry of Justice are working on the improvements recently suggested by the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation. The progress of this work will be reviewed by the London CONTEST Board, chaired by my Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime.

Switch Mobility Bus Reparation Works

Caroline Pidgeon: What is the estimated cost to TfL for repair works to the buses which were damaged during the fire at the Potter Bar Bus Garage in May 2022?

The Mayor: There was no cost to Transport for London for repair works to the buses damaged during the fire at Potters Bar Bus Garage, as the vehicles are owned/leased by the bus operator, Metroline.

Reverse stop and search

Tony Devenish: At PCC on 26th May, Sir Stephen House QPM stated that police officers will be subjected to ‘reverse stop and search’ where they will be stopped and searched by members of the community. Please can you provide details on how this will work practically and how many times it has been used to date?

The Mayor: As set out in my Action Plan for Transparency, Accountability and Trust in Policing, community-led training plays an important part in the development of a police officer’s understanding of working in London’s communities.
As a result of my Action Plan, the MPS has developed a rolling programme of community-led training delivered to 300 new recruits every 5 weeks. This involves new officers attending sessions focussed on stop and search. These are led by external organisations, Elevated Minds and Fight 4 Change. Officers are shown a video of several men talking about how they have been searched; it is then revealed that the men are all police officers who have been searched whilst off duty.
Community members, including specific input from young people, share their experiences with the officers, both good and bad and then demonstrate a ‘reverse’ stop and search. The session finishes with questions and answers before the officers go into a reflection session to discuss the topic further.
The MPS are exploring similar initiatives in local command units and are committed to embedding community led training in other areas outside of initial recruit training.

Bus Fires (3)

Elly Baker: What impact, if any, has there been on TfL procurement as a result of the investigation?

The Mayor: This incident has had no impact on Transport for London (TfL) procurement as buses are procured by the bus operators.
The incident occurred due to human error and so TfL and the bus operators are working with manufacturers to put in place mitigation measures to prevent a reoccurrence. Please see my answer to question 2022/2153 for further information.

Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker

Siân Berry: During the London Assembly Housing Committee investigation into London’s private rented sector in March 2022, we heard that 23 local authorities had not listed any landlords on the Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker. Could you tell me: a) what work you are doing with these boroughs to get them to make use of this facility, b) how you are monitoring its usefulness, and c) how many unique page views the checker webpage has had since its launch in 2017?

The Mayor: All 33 London boroughs have uploaded cases to the private and public tier of the Checker however, not all cases are publicly available. Entries on the public tier are retained for twelve months, whereas the private tier has a ten-year retention period and can only be accessed by the GLA & boroughs. This is a legal precaution we have taken on advice from expert counsel to discharge our duty under data protection legislation. There are currently 171 cases on the public tier and 2745 on the private.
My PRS partnership ensures that boroughs are making the best use of the Checker. Over the past year, 137 people from 17 boroughs have attended training on how to upload records to the Checker, which my team provides on a regular basis.
The usefulness of the tool is monitored by use of the Checker, and page views are reported on a quarterly basis. My hosing team also holds regular discussion with boroughs to evaluate and improve the Checker to keep it useful and relevant.
The Checker has received 380,167 page views since its launch.

TfL Commercial Property Company (2)

Sakina Sheikh: How much revenue would you expect TfL to raise from the commercial property company and what will it be used for?

The Mayor: Last year, Transport for London (TfL) generated £69m in income from its commercial property activity. Under its commercial property company, TTL Properties Limited (TTLP), this is expected to grow to £187m a year by 2030-31. Over the same period, the value of TTLP’s property assets is expected to grow from £1.7bn to £4.0bn. This will be achieved without TfL diverting any investment from transport to support TTLP.
100 per cent of TTLP’s profit after tax from recurring revenue will be returned to TfL as a dividend to be reinvested in the transport network.

Fraud (1)

Unmesh Desai: How many fraud case are passed onto the Met each year?

The Mayor: All allegations of Fraud should be reported direct to Action Fraud (except where crimes are in action). Action Fraud in turn disseminate the allegations to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) who assess the viability of the case. At this point the matter is either disseminated to the MPS as a ‘pursue dissemination’ that will generate a crime report for investigation, or a Protect and Prevent dissemination that will be subject to appropriate advice and support.

TfL Commercial Property Company (4)

Sakina Sheikh: Is there a timeline in place for the creation of TfL’s commercial property company?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL) commercial property company, TTL Properties Limited (TTLP), became financially separate from TfL on 1 April 2022.

TfL Commercial Property Company (5)

Sakina Sheikh: How is TfL’s commercial property company planning to allocate housing sites? Will it be on existing TfL land?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) works with Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to formally allocate its housing and employment mixed-use development sites within Local Plans. This is usually by responding to LPA’s ‘call for sites’.
TfL is seeking to develop surplus land and has to date identified sites that could support 20,000 homes over the next ten years. This is largely on existing TfL land, although on occasion TfL’s land is part of a wider comprehensive development sites alongside other land owners.

Key Worker Access to Affordable Housing

Sakina Sheikh: Can you provide an update on when forthcoming planning guidance relating to key worker priority access to intermediate housing will come in effect?

The Mayor: My forthcoming update to affordable housing London Plan Guidance (LPG) will cover a range of matters including key worker priority access to intermediate affordable housing through the planning system. We expect to publish updated guidance for public consultation later in 2022 (as noted in Mayor’s question 2022/0517).

GLA Housing Moves Scheme (2)

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to my question 2022/1357. Could you tell me: a) how many training sessions the GLA’s Housing Mobility team has run since 2016 and with which landlords, b) how many delays to properties being let through this scheme have been identified, c) what types of issues have been identified, and d) what actions have been taken to resolve them?

The Mayor: We have run at least 120 (initial and refresher) training sessions for landlords since 2016. All boroughs and G15 landlords, and many smaller housing associations that have joined the scheme since then, will have received or been offered training in this period. My mobility team also has a range of process guides and videos for landlords.
Around ten per cent of properties advertised take at least two months before we are notified about the outcome of the letting. This is largely because of landlords failing to update our system in a timely way but sometimes because properties advertised are not ready to let immediately (for example because they need works – a process that has taken longer recently due to shortages of materials and labour).
Actions will depend on the reasons for delays, but include making direct contact with landlords to resolve specific issues and offering training to address to ensure landlords are aware of their responsibilities and the processes around the scheme.

Housing in the Royal Docks (2)

Sakina Sheikh: The Royal Docks Delivery Plan 2018-2028 states that 30,000 homes will be created in the area over the next 20 years. How many of these homes do you expect would go to local residents in Newham?

The Mayor: The provision of new housing across the Royal Docks and Beckton Opportunity Area is being undertaken on GLA and private land by numerous different developers. Each site will have it’s own specific planning consent or as yet unconsented proposals and each site will have a range of different housing types and tenures.
The exact proportion of the housing that will go to existing Newham residents is impossible to quantify at this stage. However, the work of the GLA planning team, LB Newham planners and the Royal Docks Team is ensuring that there is the right range of tenures available and that the amount of affordable housing is maximised so that all Londoners are able to access the new homes.

Rewilding London – Enfield & Haringey

Joanne McCartney: What rewilding projects are you supporting/planning to support in Enfield and Haringey?

The Mayor: Since becoming Mayor, I have awarded £1,352,769 from my green infrastructure funding programmes to projects in Enfield and £815,980 to projects in Haringey to improve or create green spaces for people and wildlife.
This includes two projects in Enfield and two projects in Haringey that have received funding from my £600,000 Rewild London Fund. In Enfield, the funded projects will create multifunctional reedbed habitat on the Lee Navigation and introduce large animal grazing to improve grassland management at three country parks. In Haringey, the projects will improve habitat at the Alexandra Park Wetlands and restore four ancient woodlands.
I have convened the London Rewilding Taskforce to explore further opportunities for ambitious and innovative rewilding projects in the capital. While their scope is London-wide, one of their tasks is to evaluate area-based opportunities in boroughs including Enfield and Haringey. Further funding programmes for rewilding projects will be announced this year.

Actions taken within London Fire Brigade by 2030 for net zero

Zack Polanski: What actions will London Fire Brigade take by 2030 to meet your Accelerated Green net zero carbon pathway?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) is currently revising its net zero strategy to meet the Mayor’s 2030 target, looking at its fleet, premises and other carbon emitting functions. Implementation to date includes the removal of gas cookers, where possible; a new building management system which controls building temperature; and equipment that uses energy to ensure that it is managed efficiently.

Rent repayment orders

Siân Berry: What response have you had from ministers to your call, made in February 2022, to double the rent repayment order limit from a maximum of 12 months’ rent or housing benefit for landlords or agents found guilty of offences against tenants? And what more can you do to tackle this within your own powers?

The Mayor: I have yet to receive a response from Ministers to my call to double the rent repayment order limit.
However, there is much more we can do to improve the effectiveness of this enforcement tool. My Private Rented Sector Partnership continues to help councils share best practice on enforcement and will be discussing rent repayment orders at their next meeting to promote the innovative approaches some councils are adopting.
Furthermore, my Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker, Report a Rogue and Property Licensing Checker tools empower Londoners to report and avoid bad landlords, and access the information they need to bring RROs.

GLA funding and Employment Rights (1)

Len Duvall: How important is it that those receiving GLA funding can demonstrate good practicein how they treat staff and volunteers and how they handle complaints?

The Mayor: It is very important. I call on all organisations in receipt of GLA funding to model best practice in their treatment of staff and volunteers. One way they can do this is to pursue Good Work Standard accreditation, which includes criteria on complaints procedures and wellbeing at work.
All organisations in receipt of GLA funding should be paying their employees at least the London Living Wage rate.

LLDC - housing figures

Nick Rogers: What are the current figures for housing on the LLDC site in terms of starts, completions, sold and/or occupied?

The Mayor: Across LLDC-owned land there are currently 1,114 completions, of which 1,074 are sold and/or occupied, as of June 2022. These figures include 812 out of a total of 880 homes to be built at Chobham Manor – the Park’s first neighbourhood – of which 772 are sold or occupied, as well as 302 homes under the first phase of East Wick, all of which are sold and/or occupied.
68 homes have started on site in 2021-22, under the fourth and final phase of Chobham Manor. These homes are due to complete this month. East Wick Phase 2 is also due to start on site later this year.

Canons Park station

Krupesh Hirani: Can the Mayor advise if there are any plans to give Canons Park Station an external facelift and if there are not, can options be explored?

The Mayor: Given Transport for London’s current financial situation, there are no plans for any station refurbishment beyond general repair and maintenance to Cannons Park station in the near term.

Reprimands for Breaking Face Covering Rules on Transport for London

Krupesh Hirani: In relation to this Question 2022/1512 – what are plans to chase outstanding payments?

The Mayor: Non-payment of Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) automatically results in legal action being taken against the individual through the magistrates’ court, as per the instructions on the Notice. The exception to this is if there is strong mitigation put forward, such as medical evidence/exemption certificate, that Transport for London (TfL) would take into consideration.
Once the matter is before the court service, the individual has a right to plead guilty or not guilty to the offence, due to not having discharged themselves of liability by paying the original FPN under the legislation. If the individual pleads guilty or is found guilty by the Magistrates court for a Face Covering Offence then the court has a right to impose fines, costs and victim surcharge. All fines and victim surcharges go to fund Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) and victim services.Prosecution costs awarded by the court for bringing the case to court are then forwarded onto TfL after fines and victim surcharges have been paid.
Fines/costs/victim surcharges are usually paid in small instalments based on the individuals means or ability to pay, which is assessed by the Magistrates, until the full debt due is discharged to the Court.It can therefore be months or sometimes even years before the full debt is discharged, but it remains the responsibility of HMCTS to chase all the debt outstanding.As such, the Court’s own enforcement teams or court-appointed bailiffs deal with this and TfL is not involved.

Deportation of London’s Asylum Seekers to Rwanda

Joanne McCartney: Do you have any data on the number of asylum seekers, currently living in London, who are facing deportation to Rwanda? What steps have you taken to oppose this Government scheme, following your comments on 14th April on LBC, that the Prime Minister’s plan was “callous”, “cruel” and “chaotic”?

The Mayor: I was relieved to hear the inhumane deportation of people seeking asylum to Rwanda was stopped at the eleventh hour, thanks to the hard work of their legal representatives and the rallying of so many people outraged at the Government’s cruel policy. Our country has stood as a sanctuary for those in need for centuries; this policy must be ended now.
We do not have data on the number of asylum seekers who are facing deportation to Rwanda, but the threat of this policy is impacting the mental health and wellbeing of thousands of people that are seeking sanctuary here. I have urged the UK Government to end this cruel policy and made practical proposals to work with Government to put the asylum system on a sustainable footing, so that those who need asylum can settle and rebuild their lives here.

Suspension of private hire licenses following facial recognition failure

Siân Berry: Could you tell me how many Transport for London (TfL) licensed private hire drivers had their licenses immediately suspended or revoked by TfL between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2022 due to failing a licensed private hire operator's facial recognition identity check?

The Mayor: Between 1 January 2020 and 30 April 2022 Transport for London (TfL) revoked a total of 358 PHV driver licences.
It is not possible to confirm how many of these related to a PHV operator identity check. To do so would require the examination of each driver record to determine the reason for the revocation, which can sometimes be complex or the result of a number of factors. Please note that these numbers are correct at the date of publication – but may alter as a result of appeals.
When TfL receives information from a PHV operator about a licensed PHV driver, it will examine this information and will also take into consideration information from a range of other sources. This will all be considered before a licensing decision is made.

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan (24)

Elly Baker: In March 2012 the previous Mayor published his Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. Can you outline how Action 24 “TfL will explore with local authorities and other key stakeholders the potential to continue appropriate use of local authority-led Licensing and Safety Operating Planning Groups, Augmented Safety Advisory Groups and Safety Advisory Groups to continue efficient and safe approval of planned events” has been delivered over the past 10 years?

The Mayor: In the last 10 years, Licensing and Safety Operating Planning Groups, Augmented Safety Advisory Groups and Safety Advisory Groups have been a key part of the safe delivery of events in London. Transport for London continues to work closely with local authorities on event planning, with a focus on providing a safe and efficient transport system around events and showcasing London as one of the world leaders in major event planning and delivery.

Elizabeth line Bond Street Interchange

Krupesh Hirani: Whilst it is great that the Elizabeth Line has opened, it is frustrating that people living in Brent and Harrow - near one of our nine Jubilee line stations - will not be able to benefit fully from the Elizabeth line, as the Bond Street interchange is not ready.
When will Elizabeth line trains begin stopping at Bond Street station?

The Mayor: Bond Street Elizabeth line station continues to make good progress, and the team at Bond Street are working hard to open the station to customers later this year.

Car Thefts in Brent

Krupesh Hirani: Can the Metropolitan Police provide a breakdown by car manufacturer of cars that were stolen in Brent in the last five years?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) have supplied the requested information on the attached spreadsheet. Please ensure that the notes page is read in conjunction with the information to aid in interpretation.

The Mayor: 2041_&_2042 Car Thefts in Brent_&_Harrow.xlsx

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan (19)

Elly Baker: In March 2012 the previous Mayor published his Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. Can you outline how Action 19 “TfL will work with the GLA and boroughs to develop policies to maximise public transport, walking and cycling travel to sporting venues” has been delivered over the past 10 years?

The Mayor: The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) was founded in April 2012 after the publication of the Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. The LLDC is directly accountable to Londoners through the Mayor of London and acts as the planning authority for the area around and including Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Transport for London has worked with LLDC and host boroughs to support the delivery of my Transport Strategy and London Plan, both of which are focused on mode shift and Healthy Streets. This policy framework is expected to create the conditions for sustainable travel to sporting venues.

ULEZ Expansion (1)

Nick Rogers: Do you recognise how different outer London is to inner London, including in terms of public transport provision and how long it can typically take to travel without a car?

The Mayor: The triple challenges of tackling toxic air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion mean we need to reduce emissions and car use in London.Reductions in toxic emissions in outer London have been slower than the rest of London, and the greatest number of deaths attributable to air pollution have also been in outer London boroughs due to the higher proportion of elderly, more vulnerable people. It’s vital that we act to address this.
Already around 82 per cent of vehicles in outer London meet the standards meaning most drivers won’t be affected. Drivers of non-compliant vehicles can also join a car club or switch to a compliant vehicle to avoid paying the charge. All petrol vehicles registered from 2006 meet the ULEZ standards meaning there are many used compliant vehicles available. I have committed to helping charities, small businesses, disabled people and Londoners on lower incomes through the biggest scrappage scheme feasible.
Improving public transport in outer London is central to my Transport Strategy and to enabling people to travel more sustainably. More than 96 per cent of Londoners live within 400m of the bus network, the London Overground network has expanded including a new station at Barking Riverside and the Elizabeth Line will transform public transport connectivity directly and through new interchanges along its length. Any net revenue raised by the ULEZ must be reinvested into our transport services, including in outer London.
The consultation on proposals to expand ULEZ London-wide closes on 29 July and I encourage everyone to have their say.

London Stadium - sponsorship

Nick Rogers: What is the current estimated value of a sponsorship deal for the London Stadium?

The Mayor: LLDC is actively pursuing sponsorship partners for the Park and a broad array of assets through its commercial strategy. London Stadium plays a key part of that offer alongside the Park’s status as a community hub, business centre and cultural district as well as its position as a sports event host. This approach will help deliver more bespoke and purpose-driven sponsorship packages for potential sponsors. The assets within the naming rights are extremely valuable and estimated values remain commercially sensitive to enable the LLDC to maximise income opportunities.

Homes for Londoners Land Fund (3)

Emma Best: What is the total number of homes that have been delivered by the Land Fund to date?

The Mayor: GLA is currently forecasting circa 15,250 homes to be delivered under the Land Fund programme. Of which, 4,342 homes have been started on site, of which 511 homes have been completed to date.

Media Planning and Media Buying Services contract

Susan Hall: What is the Media Planning and Media Buying Services contract worth £33,200,000 for? Link: https://www.met.police.uk/SysSiteAssets/foi-media/metropolitan-police/pr...

The Mayor: The decision in relation to this procurement is a public document and further detail can be found at:
https://www.london.gov.uk/sites/default/files/pcd_1194_media_planning_and_buying.pdf

Hybrid working

Marina Ahmad: A study by King’s College London has found that 61% of Londoners are now hybrid working by working from home at least one day a week, compared to 37% before the pandemic. Has City Hall undertaken any research on the potential impact could this have on London’s office space and how London will look in the near future?

The Mayor: Following the findings of research I commissioned from Arup and partners in 2020 on the economic future of the Central Activities Zone, my officers are working with Central London Forward and Arup on research exploring the use and demand for offices in central London in the next 5 to 20 years. The study will model scenarios for future demand for office space in Central London and also explores the impact of these changes to local economies.
I have also commissioned a range of surveys targeted at operators and users of workspaces to understand how flexible workspace sector is changing as result of the pandemic, following the advice of my Workspace Advisory Group.
Questions included how hybrid working is changing the use of the flexible space sector; and the survey results will be published this autumn.

Excessive Noise from Motorbikes and Modified Vehicles (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Will the Met reconsider trialling sound detectors, as Paris has done, which detect unacceptable levels of noise from road traffic and are able to detect their origin, which then leads to fines for those who cause excessive disturbance?

The Mayor: The MPS Roads and Transport Policing Command have been exploring the purchase of noise detection devices for trial.
A suitable device has now been identified and the MPS is currently liaising with the Department for Transport to confirm its suitability for enforcement purposes.

Housing acquisitions for social rent and London Affordable Rent (1)

Siân Berry: What data are you collecting on local authority acquisitions of homes for social rent or London Affordable Rent via your Right to Buy-back fund, and could you share that data with me in a suitable table format?

The Mayor: Officers are drafting a response. Please be aware that there may be some delay, as the information relates to an upcoming project / event.

Climate Budgeting (1)

Leonie Cooper: What evaluation has been made of the climate budgeting trialled in Oslo as part of the work of the C40 cities group which you currently chair?

The Mayor: The city of Oslo has produced a climate budget since 2016. They have found that quantifying in their financial budget the impact of climate actions has helped focus attention on climate targets, facilitated transparency and highlighted where further action is required. It has also raised the profile of climate actions required among decision makers and helped mainstream responsibility and accountability for climate action across their City. Oslo’s methodology and approach were audited by the City Auditor in 2018 and its recommendations were taken onboard.
C40 , working with the city of Oslo, is supporting 12 cities including London, in a pilot project to see how the principles of Oslo’s climate budget approach can be implemented in each of their unique contexts. If the end of pilot evaluation finds the approach has been successful, C40 may look to encourage other member cities to implement this system as a mechanism for mainstreaming climate considerations into decision making.

Better Renting training for councils

Siân Berry: Could you tell me: a) how many local authority staff, and from which councils, have participated in the Better Renting training programme annually since its launch in May 2020, including the current year, and b) what projection you have made of funding and numbers trained for the next two hears to 2024?

The Mayor: The Better Renting programme comprises 3 strands. The PRS Qualification began in September 2021 and 16 learners are currently completing the course. Recruitment for the 2022 cohort has begun and numbers will be confirmed in August 2022.
The second strand is upskilling training commissioned by the GLA for frontline officers. 300 PRS officers have attended training sessions since May 2020 on topics including HMO evidencing and fire safety inspections. The forward programme of training is currently being scoped with the PRS Partnership for 2022-23.
The third strand was the PRS Forum, a best practice workshop series for junior officers, delivered from May 2020-June 2021. 382 officers attended.
Funding is confirmed for the first two years of the qualification and the existing funding for commissioning training sessions for frontline PRS officers is projected to be spent by March 2024. However, I will be continuing to press government for further funding to continue this vital work to support boroughs.

Non-video posts removals

Susan Hall: For each financial year of 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 how many non-video posts has the Met requested be removed from the internet? Please breakdown by:

• Platform, e.g. YouTube
• Reason for removal
• Successfully removed

The Mayor: The table below shows the number of non-video referrals and removals over the last three financial years. In the case of all referrals the reason for removal is that the content breaches the relevant platforms’ Community Guidelines, Terms and Conditions or User Agreements.
Non-video removals
2019/20
2020/21
2021/22
Referred
Removed
Referred
Removed
Referred
Removed
YouTube
0
0
0
0
0
0
Snapchat
0
0
0
0
0
0
Facebook
0
0
0
0
0
0
Twitter
0
0
0
0
2
0
TikTok
0
0
2
2
5
5
Instagram
2
2
29
23
22
17
Other Social Media Platforms
0
0
0
0
3
3
Music Streaming Platforms
1
1
1
1
34
24
Music Companies
0
0
2
1
49
48
Total
3
3
34
27
115
97

Hostile Vehicle Mitigation Barriers on Central London Bridges

Caroline Pidgeon: Following your answer to MQ 2021/4371, TfL has now announced it is pausing work to install permanent hostile vehicle mitigation measures on central London bridges it is responsible for. How are you working with TfL and central government to ensure permanent measures are installed as soon as possible and please set out measures you have already undertaken?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) will complete the work to install measures on Westminster bridge, but due to its current funding constraints, is unable to further progress permanent measures on other central London bridges at present. The current barriers will remain in place and continue to provide protection from the risk of a vehicle attack.
The design and development work that has been undertaken to date remains ready to be progressed when the financialposition changes.
Through the London CONTEST Board, I will continue the work initiated by TfL to engage with the Homeland Security Group in the Home Office and the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime to progress the clear recommendation from Lord Harris’ review that “given the national significance of some of the bridges in question, it is appropriate that central Government step up in support. The Cabinet Office and HM Treasury should work with City Hall to rapidly identify and allocate adequate funding to allow the necessary works replacing temporary with permanent structures to begin.”

Healthcare in Custody Changes

Caroline Pidgeon: In answer to MQ 2022/0250 in January 2022 I was informed that a review of the new arrangements for healthcare provision in custody suites, introduced in May 2021, would be completed in the first quarter of 2022. Please update me on the findings of this review.

The Mayor: The provision of healthcare in the police custody setting is important to ensuring detainees are kept safe and well and can effectively engage in the criminal justice process.
The review is formally underway. There have been some delays due to MPS personnel changes, and initial findings are now expected in July 2022.

London Stadium North Stand Project

Caroline Pidgeon: What was the overall cost to London Legacy Development Corporation of the North Stand project in the London Stadium?

The Mayor: As reported in MQ 2020/0407, the seating system at London Stadium is for the north and south stands, costing less than £5 million to purchase with a further £1 million per annum for moving costs. The seating system will help to save £1 million per annum in seat move costs. The system also included a new ‘entertainment deck’ for the north stand which will help generate further event income in the future as referenced in MQ 2021/2220.
This new system is one of several ‘invest to save’ initiatives being undertaken to help drive down Stadium operating costs, with the costs of the investment to be recouped over the next four years. Savings will be achieved by decreasing transition time between events as well as seats being easier to store and more flexible for a wider range of events.

HMICFRS Inspection of London Fire Brigade (1)

Anne Clarke: For the December 2019 “Fire & Rescue Service Effectiveness, efficiency and people 2018/19” report can you provide an update on the 24 Areas for improvement and 2 recommendations made in the report?

The Mayor: The inspection report was an important catalyst for the significant improvement London Fire Brigade (LFB) required and the Brigade put measures in place to address the issues identified. LFB has now completed 17 out of the 26 areas of improvement and recommendations that were made by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in the December 2019 report.
The 24 areas for improvement are broken down into three categories: effectiveness; efficiency; and people. Progress is as follows:
The two recommendations made in the report have both been completed.
The London Fire Commissioner will be writing to the Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning Committee with further details of the remaining areas for improvement following discussion at the June Committee meeting.

London business sectors 1

Susan Hall: For each financial year of 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22, what are the number of businesses in London broken down by the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors?

The Mayor: The Office for National Statistics (ONS) does not publish this data for financial years. Data for a snapshot of March of each year is available from the IDBR. The available data is below:
Table 1: Number of London businesses in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors, March 2015 to March 2021
Sector
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Primary
825
825
865
905
950
955
995
Secondary
53,885
59,975
65,055
67,910
72,060
74,125
76,385
Tertiary
390,170
416,105
439,740
437,365
449,225
456,210
457,210
Total
444,880
476,905
505,660
506,180
522,235
531,290
534,590
Source: ONS NOMIS, IDBR
This aggregates published ONS sector breakdowns. The definition adopted for the aggregated sector breakdown is:
Table 2: Sector breakdown of primary, secondary and tertiary sectors
ONS sector
Aggregated sector
Agriculture
Primary
Mining and quarrying
Primary
Manufacturing
Secondary
Electricity and gas etc
Secondary
Water supply etc
Secondary
Construction
Secondary
Wholesale and retail
Tertiary
Transport
Tertiary
Accommodation and food services
Tertiary
Information and communication
Tertiary
Finance
Tertiary
Real estate
Tertiary
Professional services
Tertiary
Administrative and support services
Tertiary
Public administration
Tertiary
Education
Tertiary
Health
Tertiary
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Tertiary
Other services
Tertiary
Activities of households
Tertiary
Activities of extraterritorial organisations
Tertiary
Source: GLA

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary

Tony Devenish: Following his recent appointment, what are your thoughts on the recent comments made in The Telegraph by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke QPM DL, on ‘back to basics’ policing?

The Mayor: HMCI Andy Cooke QPM DL brings a wealth of experience to the role. The article you refer to discusses the loss of 20,000 officers across the country and the impact that has had on policing and detection rates.
I agree that thepolice need more resources and I have invested a record amount in the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), putting an extra 1,300 police officers on London’s streets.This, together with the Government’s belated U-turn on police officernumbers, has meant that the MPS reached a headcount of 33,567 police officers (FTE) in 2021/22, the highest number on record.
HMCI Cooke discusses neighbourhood policing being effective in communities. This is an area that I have supported increases in resources in the Met throughout my time as Mayor. In my first term I restored real neighborhood policingby increasing the number ofDedicated Ward Officers (DWOs) so that there are at least two Police Constablesand one Police Community Support Officerin every ward inLondon. Local policing has been further strengthened this year with an additional 650 officers - 500 forming 19 dedicated Town Centre Teams across London and a further 150 joining London’s Dedicated Ward Officers, working in communities to drive down crime and problem-solve local issues.

LFB Transformation Delivery Plan

Anne Clarke: Have you met the Chair of the Independent Review into the Culture of the London Fire Brigade, Nazir Afzal OBE, since he was appointed to lead the Review in November 2021?

The Mayor: I met the Chair of the Independent Review into the Culture of the London Fire Brigade (LFB) in February. In addition, the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience has been closely engaged with the review throughout the process and continues to keep me informed. She was part of the committee to find a suitable Chair and panel members for the Review, alongside the London Fire Commissioner and the external chair of LFB’s Audit Committee, Marta Philips. Final interviews were supported by the Deputy Mayor for Communities and Social Justice.
The Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience met Nazir Afzal OBE after he was appointed Chair. I am kept up to date with progress and further meetings will take place once the team is in a position to discuss findings. The Chair is planning on presenting his findings to the Brigade by November 2022.

Defining ‘obsolete’ homes for grant purposes (2)

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to my question 2022/1007, in which you wrote that an obsolete home is defined as one: “where an affordable home is no longer considered by the landlord to be capable for letting for long term tenancies.” Could you provide further clarification about what you mean by ‘long term tenancies’ in this context? For example, could a home that was previously used for secure tenancies but has been used for several years as temporary accommodation be classified as ‘obsolete?’

The Mayor: In this context, long-term tenancy means let as a permanent home on a secure tenancy, or other related tenancy types. If a home is let on an assured shorthold tenancy or licence for temporary accommodation, but is no longer considered by the landlord to be capable of letting to new long term tenancies for reasons pertaining to condition, type or building standards, regulations or safety, then I can confirm it may be defined as ‘obsolete’.

Fall in the number of female LFB cadets

Hina Bokhari: Do you share my concern over the significant fall in the percentage of LFB cadets who are female since 2018, as outlined in the data from your response to MQ 2022/0305?

The Mayor: Although there was a slight increase (3%) in the proportion of female cadets recruited from 2020 to 2021, the past two years have seen a decrease to levels below the averages achieved since 2015. In 2018/19 we saw a stronger than average intake of young women, however as we have come out of the pandemic restrictions, Fire Cadets Coordinators are now able to explore further active recruitment initiatives to encourage young people from all underrepresented groups to apply to join Fire Cadets. Development pathways are more clearly defined with volunteers and LFB staff providing active role models for all young people engaging with London Fire Brigade (LFB) Youth Services. LFB, along with the wider GLA family are committed to providing positive opportunities to young women in London, and it is an LFB priority to ensure ongoing diversity within the Fire Cadets cohort that are currently being recruited for 2022.

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan (28)

Elly Baker: In March 2012 the previous Mayor published his Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. Can you outline how Action 28 “TfL will establish a range of strategic performance measures for the transport legacy and will report progress in the annual Travel in London Report, as outlined in the 2011 report. Consideration will be given by TfL and the six host boroughs to additional monitoring and funding sources, potentially to include the monitoring of specific legacy-related schemes and reporting via LIPs” has been delivered over the past 10 years?

The Mayor: Progress towards Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan transport outcomes is broadly tracked through Transport for London’s (TfL) London Travel Demand Survey, which measures individual travel behaviour, including Active Travel. Relevant data from this survey are reported periodically in TfL’s annual Travel in London reports, and detailed data are available at borough level to enable these outcomes to be tracked, for example through Local Implementation Plan reporting. Recent data from this survey have unfortunately been affected by pandemic restrictions, affecting comparability of trends over time.
Nevertheless, given that 2022 is the tenth anniversary of the Games, TfL will include a focused section in Travel in London report 15, due for publication towards the end of the year.

Building Safety Fund

Anne Clarke: How many grants have been made from this fund to date? Please provide a breakdown since the funds began, showing the size of grant and date of grant award.

The Mayor: As of 14 June 2022, 148 grant payments have been made from the Building Safety Fund totalling £148,629,909.
Please see table below for a breakdown.
Payment amount (£)
Date of payment authorisation
£167,267.00
15-Oct-20
£515,104.00
09-Dec-20
£571,988.00
07-Jan-21
£219,898.00
11-Jan-21
£1,764,874.00
13-Jan-21
£463,175.00
22-Jan-21
£455,989.00
27-Jan-21
£131,519.00
04-Feb-21
£628,330.00
12-Feb-21
£60,301.00
24-Feb-21
£323,825.00
24-Feb-21
£1,801,940.00
25-Feb-21
£465,657.00
25-Feb-21
£227,348.00
25-Feb-21
£274,178.00
25-Feb-21
£230,728.00
08-Mar-21
£479,823.00
10-Mar-21
£372,809.00
11-Mar-21
£398,934.00
17-Mar-21
£728,716.00
17-Mar-21
£88,023.00
30-Mar-21
£460,607.00
30-Mar-21
£347,273.00
06-Apr-21
£916,157.00
07-Apr-21
£207,214.00
08-Apr-21
£1,105,267.00
08-Apr-21
£944,089.00
14-Apr-21
£720,162.00
14-Apr-21
£235,571.00
16-Apr-21
£2,220,132.00
16-Apr-21
£1,083,674.00
19-Apr-21
£470,328.00
21-Apr-21
£292,957.00
21-Apr-21
£212,888.00
05-May-21
£80,956.00
07-May-21
£1,388,588.00
14-May-21
£1,798,652.00
19-May-21
£157,071.00
19-May-21
£246,495.00
24-May-21
£1,003,815.00
04-Jun-21
£228,782.00
08-Jun-21
£783,091.00
11-Jun-21
£91,918.00
15-Jun-21
£335,660.00
16-Jun-21
£170,400.00
21-Jun-21
£628,113.00
28-Jun-21
£162,337.00
28-Jun-21
£142,199.00
30-Jun-21
£1,132,684.00
08-Jul-21
£110,111.00
15-Jul-21
£375,402.00
23-Jul-21
£393,939.00
23-Jul-21
£267,276.00
27-Jul-21
£497,725.00
28-Jul-21
£495,864.00
28-Jul-21
£215,192.00
28-Jul-21
£472,520.00
28-Jul-21
£425,443.00
28-Jul-21
£100,000.00
04-Aug-21
£311,927.00
10-Aug-21
£314,659.00
11-Aug-21
£279,364.00
12-Aug-21
£1,427,461.00
17-Aug-21
£889,482.00
24-Aug-21
£606,617.00
24-Aug-21
£4,613,623.00
24-Aug-21
£2,369,705.00
15-Sep-21
£558,041.00
15-Sep-21
£288,281.00
20-Sep-21
£154,202.00
20-Sep-21
£1,051,044.00
23-Sep-21
£224,842.00
23-Sep-21
£159,707.00
24-Sep-21
£1,335,694.00
24-Sep-21
£655,880.00
29-Sep-21
£308,483.00
30-Sep-21
£1,458,594.00
30-Sep-21
£195,232.00
07-Oct-21
£407,506.00
11-Oct-21
£1,018,784.00
12-Oct-21
£200,867.00
19-Oct-21
£239,337.00
25-Oct-21
£513,355.00
25-Oct-21
£593,917.00
25-Oct-21
£691,702.00
28-Oct-21
£164,345.00
12-Nov-21
£439,053.00
16-Nov-21
£1,320,246.00
24-Nov-21
£1,575,865.00
30-Nov-21
£185,844.00
16-Dec-21
£1,551,058.00
17-Dec-21
£295,420.00
21-Dec-21
£739,070.00
21-Dec-21
£59,622.00
22-Dec-21
£1,569,995.00
05-Jan-22
£146,749.00
13-Jan-22
£97,038.00
20-Jan-22
£160,000.00
25-Jan-22
£521,530.00
27-Jan-22
£3,642,884.00
27-Jan-22
£86,666.00
28-Jan-22
£80,898.00
28-Jan-22
£7,864,134.00
31-Jan-22
£1,290,314.00
01-Feb-22
£3,702,761.00
04-Feb-22
£243,181.00
08-Feb-22
£35,000.00
09-Feb-22
£422,398.00
10-Feb-22
£5,496,083.00
11-Feb-22
£177,146.00
11-Feb-22
£1,106,062.00
11-Feb-22
£7,325,314.00
14-Feb-22
£1,325,606.00
17-Feb-22
£505,037.00
17-Feb-22
£3,006,012.00
23-Feb-22
£578,823.00
01-Mar-22
£154,053.00
01-Mar-22
£5,167,453.00
08-Mar-22
£285,828.00
08-Mar-22
£4,403,624.00
08-Mar-22
£1,532,694.00
28-Mar-22
£498,783.00
28-Mar-22
£385,473.00
29-Mar-22
£3,201,986.00
30-Mar-22
£225,061.00
30-Mar-22
£5,687,706.00
08-Apr-22
£1,074,558.00
26-Apr-22
£1,524,468.00
26-Apr-22
£3,551,666.00
04-May-22
£292,736.00
04-May-22
£5,651,558.00
04-May-22
£114,058.00
11-May-22
£588,418.00
12-May-22
£1,102,141.00
12-May-22
£3,123,299.00
17-May-22
£504,395.00
17-May-22
£268,920.00
17-May-22
£4,607,221.00
18-May-22
£137,312.00
18-May-22
£661,695.00
19-May-22
£611,340.00
23-May-22
£577,368.00
30-May-22
£161,991.00
30-May-22
£117,582.00
31-May-22
£213,871.00
06-Jun-22
£1,719,826.00
07-Jun-22
£88,767.00
07-Jun-22
£2,520,620.00
09-Jun-22

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan (3)

Elly Baker: In March 2012 the previous Mayor published his Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. Can you outline how Action 3 “TfL will work with the GLA, British Waterways and the six host boroughs to enable the continued use of the River Lea and surrounding waterways, to deliver freight to the Olympic Park and the surrounding area in the future” has been delivered over the past 10 years?

The Mayor: Since the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Transport for London (TfL) has worked closely with the Port of London Authority, Canal and River Trust, Cross River Partnership, riparian boroughs and other organisations that work with and promote freight on the Thames and canals. I have also set up the Thames and London Waterways Forum to promote the growth in the use of the river Thames and London’s waterways including freight.
The revamped Bow Back River system which feeds into the River Lee Navigation is managed by the Canal and River Trust. Its Olympic Legacy Waterways Framework prioritises heritage, community engagement and leisure but has also identified future opportunities for freight, including waste.
TfL provides ongoing support for water freight through its Construction Logistics plans that promote the use of the river for new developments, through trials for light water freight and through the Freight in London Toolkit that provides information for freight operators considering water freight.

Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and London (2)

Leonie Cooper: How can the Mayor provide support across London and its boroughs in prioritising and protecting London’s SINCs?

The Mayor: My London Plan affords strong protection to SINCs and requires boroughs to identify and protect them through their Local Plans. My officers convene the London Wildlife Sites Board to provide guidance on their identification against criteria in my London Environment Strategy. There are more than 1600 SINCs in London and monitoring through the London Plan Annual Monitoring Report shows SINCs are well protected in planning decisions.
SINCs are the core of the city’s ecological network yet years of cuts to public finances means that not all are managed to their full potential. This is why my Rewild London Fund supports SINC management and includes an advisory service via London Wildlife Trust (LWT) so that projects can access the specialist advice needed. We are working with LWT to share learning and best practice from the projects and to scope other support needed by boroughs to ensure the SINC network is enhanced.

Bus Service volume (2)

Elly Baker: What was the planned Vehicle kms scheduled (million) by London Buses for 2022/23 to 2024/25 under a) the current 4% reduction and b) the 18% reduction under the managed decline scenario? Please provide figures for each financial year.

The Mayor: I have supported the Mayor’s Fund for London over a number of years to deliver Kitchen Social, its flagship holiday hunger project. Kitchen Social supports children and young people facing food insecurity by giving them a safe place to go where they can socialise, take part in activities and get a free, healthy meal.
Last year I funded the Mayor’s Fund to support boroughs to take on new responsibilities under the Government’s Holiday Activities & Food programme and gather evidence of the impact of the programme, to help show the importance of long-term funding. I am glad the Government has now committed to fund this programme on a long-term basis.
This year, I have allocated a further £3.7m for action to help Londoners address the cost of living crisis, including work to help families understand and access their entitlements. However, the scale of the problem requires the Government to step in and provide further support. I recently called on ministers to act on free school meals, including to restore the meal voucher system over the summer holidays, and will continue to pressure the Government to take action to support families and young people throughout this cost of living crisis.

Diversifying Cycling

Onkar Sahota: What more can be done to encourage greater numbers of women and underrepresented groups to try cycling?

The Mayor: I am committed to growing cycling to help make London a cleaner, healthier and more efficient city, while ensuring all Londoners are given the opportunity to take up cycling and enjoy its health and economic benefits.
London has seen great progress in cycling diversification over the past two years. For the first time, Londoners from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups were as likely to have cycled as white Londoners. The proportion of women having cycled increased too, although there still is a gender gap. This is encouraging but more needs to be done.
Research shows that concern over road danger is the primary barrier to cycling across all demographic groups, but it disproportionally affects some under-represented groups, including women, hence our focus on Vision Zero, expanding the Cycleway network and reducing car dominance.
Transport for London (TfL) has undertaken research to better understand secondary barriers to cycling, which affect minority groups in different ways. This research is available on TfL’s website here. These barriers include lack of cycle parking at home, lack of confidence in one’s ability to cycle, lack of access to a cycle or the perception of cycling not being for everyone. TfL works with London boroughs to design delivery programmes that address these barriers through initiatives such as residential cycle parking, cycle training and our community grants programme.

Park Lane Cycle Lane (1)

Tony Devenish: When will TfL’s consultation on ‘Park Lane walking and cycling changes’ be complete?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) plans to launch public consultation for a six-week period on the future of the temporary changes made to Park Lane in September 2022.
A decision on the future of Park Lane will take into account consultation responses and monitoring data TfL has collected over the last two years. The consultation will be complete once a report to summarise and respond to the outcomes has been published. It is not possible at this stage to say how long it might take to consider those responses before they have been received and considered.

Social Housing Regulation Bill and impact on London (1)

Sem Moema: What impact are you expecting the upcoming Social Housing Regulation Bill to have on London?

The Mayor: I welcome the publication of the Social Housing Regulation Bill. This is a long time coming after the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the publication of the Social Housing White Paper. I expect the bill to have a broadly positive impact on London, especially as it will equip the Regulator of Social Housing with stronger powers to proactively regulate consumer standards.
While new high-quality social rent homes are desperately needed, we cannot forget those Londoners in existing social rent homes that do not meet the Decent Homes Standard, and who are not receiving the service they deserve from their landlords.
To raise standards in social housing, new legislation must be matched with central government resources for the Regulator to be truly proactive, a Decent Homes Standard fit for the future, and robust requirements for strong tenant representation within social housing providers.

ULEZ Expansion Consultation (6)

Nick Rogers: There are 28 questions in TfL's ULEZ Expansion Consultation. Why is it that none of those questions asks "Do you support the expansion of the ULEZ?" and gives the respondent the chance to answer "Yes" or "No"?

The Mayor: This consultation considers a number of complex proposals and asks people to provide views on the future of road user charging in London.
As Londoners could be impacted by the proposed changes in different ways, we are consulting to understand what these potential impacts are and how we could plan to mitigate them. Throughout the consultation, we aim to offer several opportunities for the public and stakeholders to tell us what they think about each proposal to enable robust decision making once the consultation closes.
The purpose of the consultation is to inform and support our decision-making process, it is not a referendum. It allows our communities and stakeholders to share their views with us while each proposal is still at a formative stage so that we can then demonstrate how this has been considered when an eventual decision is made. This is done in line with the principles of a legally compliant public consultation.
If a respondent wished to state their level of support for the proposed ULEZ expansion they could do this via the free-text boxes provided to give people an opportunity to state their views. Alternatively, question eight provides an option for respondents to select that the expansion should not happen at all.

Bus stops in Clapham

Marina Ahmad: Will you consider making representations to Transport for London about improving the state of bus stops in Clapham, to rectify missing Legible London signs and to tackle lack of bus maps on said bus stopsi?

The Mayor: There are 21,500 bus stops and 14,000 bus shelters within the Greater London Authority, Transport for London (TfL) maintains all of the bus stops and 12,500 of the shelters.
TfL has responsibility for 90 high streets across the Transport for London Road Network (TLRN) including Clapham High Street. Each of these is audited every 12 weeks. Where a defect is observed with any street asset, including bus stops and shelters, details are captured and actioned accordingly.
In addition, bus shelters are inspected annually and cleaned every week, every two or every four weeks, depending on the shelter type. Clapham High Street’s bus shelters are cleaned weekly. TfL assure me that defects or maintenance issues, from any of the aforementioned activities, are raised and routinely responded to according to assigned priority or safety criteria.
Following a review in 2020, the street furniture and identified bus shelters along Clapham High Street were painted to refresh the area.
Please also refer to my response to Mayor’s Question 2022/1449 about the maintenance of legible London signs. Even if TfL does not own the Legible London sign, it will repair any that are located on the TLRN. For the Clapham area, I am informed by TfL that there are currently no outstanding Legible London signs. If this issue remains, I’d ask you to provide further details to my officers at TfL.

South London Crosslink

Marina Ahmad: Will you consider bringing the Victoria rail service back to Clapham High Street station and providing direct trains to Brixton, Herne Hill, and Bromley South?

The Mayor: The Department for Transport (DfT) is responsible for these services, as they run Southeastern railway as operator of last resort. Transport for London (TfL) is not opposed to the existing Southeastern services to and from Victoria making additional calls at Clapham High Street should the DfT, wish to take the idea forward.
There are however several practical issues that would need to be taken into consideration, and any changes to the service would be subject to cost-effective solutions being found to these.
The Clapham High Street platforms are too short for the eight-car trains used on the Victoria to Dartford and Orpington metro routes, and the existing rolling stock lacks a safety intervention called “Selective Door Opening” that enables trains to call at a station where the platform is shorter than the train. There are also technical restrictions, such as the frequent routing of these services along an adjacent pair of tracks which do not have any platforms, which would make implementation difficult using the existing railway infrastructure. Finally, there would need to be clear consideration on the wider capacity of the rail network and the robustness of the timetable. All of these concerns could affect the value for money of any proposal for these services to call at Clapham High Street station.

London Fire Brigade - Grievances 2

Susan Hall: Could you please confirm how many grievances were lodged by LFB staff in 2021, 2020 and 2019?

The Mayor: The data shows grievances that have been lodged by London Fire Brigade (LFB) employees via the online system. These are subject to a sift which does not always result in the grievance proceeding further.
Year
2021
2020
2019
Grievances, excluding sick pay grievances
14
29
20
The data shown above excludes sick pay grievances. Although sick pay grievances are raised in accordance with the Brigade’s grievance procedure, they are managed separately. This process is for employees to request an extension to their occupational sick pay when their entitlement to full or half pay is ending. The data shown below includes these grievances.
Year
2021
2020
2019
Grievances, including sick pay grievances
64
86
65

Social Housing Regulation Bill and impact on London (3)

Sem Moema: What impact will the Social Housing Regulation Bill have on your manifesto commitments?

The Mayor: In my manifesto I committed to continuing the record-breaking progress made on increasing the numbers of genuinely affordable homes in London and to prioritising the number of homes built at social rent, as well as improving their quality standards. I also committed to continue to back tenants to make sure they are being listened to by their landlords.
The measures included in the bill do not change these commitments, but rather reinforce them. I will continue to demand high standards for tenants where the quality of service they receive is unacceptable. I will make the case for the reforms and investment in housing that we desperately need – and which go beyond changes to social housing regulation. And I will continue to call on ministers to appoint a social housing tenant as a national Commissioner for Social Housing Residents, to oversee improvements to our system of social housing.

Social Housing Regulation Bill and impact on London (2)

Sem Moema: Do you believe that the Social Housing Regulation Bill will improve transparency for tenants across London?

The Mayor: I welcome the publication of the Social Housing Regulation Bill. It will allow the Regulator of Social Housing to set standards for Registered Providers (RPs) on transparency to tenants and it also includes requirements for RPs to provide their tenants with information on management costs and executive remuneration. The bill also allows for the introduction of Tenant Satisfaction Measures, which are aimed at improving transparency about landlords’ performance.
These are positive measures but given that social housing tenants have little choice about their landlord, keeping them informed about landlord performance should be matched with robust requirements for tenant representation to inform landlord governance. This will support a shared goal of landlord and tenants: to proactively work to reduce instances of things going wrong, rather than just retrospective accountability for poor performance.

Policing Football (1)

Unmesh Desai: How much does it cost the Metropolitan Police to police all the football matches that take place in the capital across a season?

The Mayor: For the 2021/22 football season to 1 June 2022 (with data still due until the end of the season) the cost of policing football events was £15,240,963. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) were only able to recover £254,254. This is because police can only recover costs for policing provided on areas owned or controlled by the football club and not for policing at wider areas such as town centres, railway stations, etc. Further information can be found at https://www.met.police.uk/foi-ai/af/accessing-information/publication-scheme/
I have previously lobbied the Government to change the legislation which they have refused to do, and I have previously asked the Premier League to contribute to the costs their activities generate – they also refused. The National and International Capital Cities (NICC) grant which could contribute to the national and international football events hosted in London currently underfunds the MPS by £159m per year.

Skills Bootcamps (1)

Neil Garratt: From which budget will your Skills Bootcamps programme be funded?

The Mayor: My Skills Bootcamps Programme offers free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 or over who are either in work or recently unemployed. It forms part of the national Wave 3 2022-23 programme and is funded by the Department for Education (DfE).

Skills Bootcamps (3)

Neil Garratt: How will your Skills Bootcamps programme be identifying skills gaps to target them accordingly?

The Mayor: My Skills Bootcamps Programme offers free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks for adults aged 19 or over who are either in work or recently unemployed.
The programme was designed to meet the needs identified in London’s Local Skills Report, by the Jobs and Skills Business Partnership, local employer representative bodies and wider employers. Skills Bootcamp Providers will be required to demonstrate extensive evidence of employer involvement in the design and proposed delivery of their Skills Bootcamp provision through the commissioning process. This includes identifying skills gaps that are faced by employers and identifying specific vacancies that can be filled through the provision of the Skills Bootcamp.
The sector skills areas that the programme will be delivering against have been determined by the Department for Education and only 10% of the grant funding available to the GLA has been permitted to be used for London’s additional priority sectors.

Skills Bootcamps (2)

Neil Garratt: What measurable targets have you set for your Skills Bootcamps programme?

The Mayor: The Skills Bootcamps for Londoners programme forms part of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Wave 3 delivery of Skills Bootcamps. The main targets for the programme, which are set by DfE are listed below:
80% of participants must complete their Skills Bootcamps course
100% of participants seeking new jobs who complete their learning must be guaranteed a job interview. The interview must be for a job that matches the skills acquired through the successful completion of the Skills Bootcamp.
75% of participants seeking a new job should get a new job (which can be an apprenticeship) within 6 months of completion that utilises the skills acquired in the Skills Bootcamp.
The DfE also determined the eligible sector skills areas for the programme and have only allowed 10% of the grant funding available to the GLA to be used for London’s additional priority sectors.

Green Skills and the GLA Family

Leonie Cooper: With the Green skills sector a rapidly growing sector, how does the GLA group support the development of this sector and make sure that London has the skills it needs to the future?

The Mayor: I have commissioned a review of GLA group activity to identify where we can better support the creation of green jobs and, through this, strengthen demand for green skills. The review will report this summer. I am also setting up a Green Skills Task and Finish Group, as part of my Jobs and Skills Business Partnership, to inform my wider programmes.
My £44m Academies Programme is creating and coordinating training opportunities through provider and employer partnerships. One of the key objectives is to support Londoners to get the skills to find and progress in good green jobs.
My £18.9m Skills Bootcamps and Solar Skills London (SSL) programmes are other examples of green skills provision. Skills Bootcamps provide short courses to help Londoners into green jobs and other growing sectors. SSL will grow London’s solar sector by creating career pathways for the next generation and increasing the number of registered solar installers in London.
However, Government also needs to invest in green job creation, starting with retrofitting, to ensure employers have access to the skills they need.

Sexual Health Clinics in London

Krupesh Hirani: How many sexual health clinics have closed in London since 2010?

The Mayor: Responsibility for commissioning sexual health clinics was transferred to local authorities in April 2013. In 2015/16, London boroughs began to collaborate on sexual health transformation which included the integration of sexual health services, bringing together HIV/STI testing/STI treatment and contraception, which was previously separate; introduction of the London online sexual health services for HIV/STI testing (and more recently contraception in some areas); and modernisation of, or opening of new, clinic sites.

Changes to bus services, stops and frequencies

Siân Berry: Could you supply a table summary of all changes to Transport for London (TfL) bus services, including changes to routes, bus stop locations and frequencies, since January 2020, including details of: a) the route(s) affected, b) the broad category of the change, and c) whether each change was consulted upon.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has implemented 166 permanent service changes across London’s bus network since 1 January 2020, which include a combination of frequency reductions and increases, re-routings, curtailments and extensions, new and withdrawn routes. Further details on these service changes are provided in Attachment 1. Where a service change involved a consultation, this is indicated accordingly in column F.
TfL has also implemented 550 permanent changes involving stops across its bus network since 1 January 2020. Further details are provided in Attachment 2.
Permanent bus changes are all noted on TfL’s website: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/buses/bus-changes

The Mayor: 1876 Attachment 1 - Summary of Service Changes Since 1 Jan 2020.xlsx


  1876 Attachment 2 - Summary of Stop Changes Since 1 Jan 2020.xlsx

Impact of the central London bus review

Siân Berry: What assessment has been made of the impact of the proposals in Transport for London’s Central London Bus Review on different age groups, such as young people who only get free travel on buses?

The Mayor: Transport for London is undertaking a Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for each individual ‘neighbourhood scheme’ as well as a programme wide assessment. These consider how the proposals in the Central London Bus Review could impact passengers with protected characteristics, including young people and older people. The EqIA will be kept under review and updated as and when any new relevant information comes to light, including information received as part of the consultation.
The EqIA demonstrates how different demographics comprise the current passenger base and how they are represented at borough level. The EqIA considers how each group of people with a protected characteristic might be impacted by the proposals; for example, increased interchange could have a more significant impact on older people who are more likely to be reliant on the provision of shelters with seating at interchange stops or require access to priority seating on board buses. As part of the EqIA process, mitigation opportunities are being identified to help reduce the impact on passengers with protected characteristics where possible, such as the installation of new shelters and seating; improving publicity and real-time information; and ensuring that pedestrian routes between interchange stops are accessible and easy to navigate.

Bus service changes consultations

Siân Berry: Could you supply a table summary of responses to each required consultation on changes to Transport for London (TfL) bus services since January 2020, including details of: a) the route(s) affected, b) the broad nature of the changes proposed, c) the dates of the consultation, d) the number of public responses, e) the number of stakeholder responses, f) a brief summary of the outcome, and g) a link to details of the outcome of the consultation?

The Mayor: In addition to the Central London Bus Review consultation, which Transport for London (TfL) is currently consulting on, TfL has undertaken a further 18 bus consultations since January 2020. The attached file contains the requested information.

The Mayor: 1875 Bus services changes consultations attachment.xlsx

Central London Bus Review Consultation (2)

Tony Devenish: Will you commit to ensuring that future consultations start with all the relevant questions and any questions that do not pertain to the subject of the consultation are removed or, if that is not possible, included at the end?

The Mayor: All Transport for London (TfL) consultation questionnaires already start with and contain questions that are pertinent to the topic that is being consulted on. I believe you may be conflating the process of registering for an account on TfL’s Have Your Say consultation website, with the consultation questionnaire itself.
Respondents are only required to register for the platform once and so any questions asked during the registration process are not repeated.
Please also see my response to Mayor’s Question 2022/2253.

Defining ‘obsolete’ homes for grant purposes (4)

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to my question 2022/1007. Could I ask for a further detailed breakdown of the home demolitions (and replacements) that were given grant based on the existing homes being ‘obsolete’, including a breakdown showing the housing provider, estates concerned, and the reasons given for defining homes as ‘obsolete’ for the following three council areas: a) Camden, b) Kensington and Chelsea, and c) Lambeth?

The Mayor: We are unable to provide this commercially sensitive information as we are progressing through the contracting process.

Developing Green Skills in London (1)

Leonie Cooper: What have been identified as Green Skills gaps in London and how are you working to resolve these?

The Mayor: The transition to a greener economy will have wide-ranging impacts on jobs and skills.
GLA research has highlighted challenges in finding suitable candidates for skilled trade positions, such as electricians and building trades. Other cross-cutting skills – such as STEM, project management and digital skills – are also emphasised. The Adult Education Budget is already delivering courses in many of these areas. However, more investment from Government will be needed to meet increased demand.
My skills and employment programmes, including the Mayor’s Academies Programme and Skills Bootcamps, aim to address skills gaps in key sectors, including the green sector. Work is also underway to support supply chain development through Solar Skills London, a placement programme aimed at improving career pathways and delivering grants for training in 100 solar businesses.
The GLA is working with London’s boroughs to support the development and implementation of pan-London green jobs and skills initiatives.

London Greener and Warmer Buildings Summit

Leonie Cooper: What were the outcomes and actions from your recentLondon Greener and Warmer Buildings Summit?

The Mayor: The London Greener and Warmer Buildings Summit reiterated London’s commitment to decarbonisation following COP26, including my ambition to make the city net zero carbon by 2030. The Summit was attended by nearly 400 people for the Public Hour and over 200 participants at workshops on domestic, commercial, public sector retrofit and green finance.
The GLA and London Councils have been working closely to progress the commitments made at the Summit. Together with London Councils we are developing packages of work including: ensuring local authorities’ domestic enforcementpowerscan be used effectively; working with businesses to drive uptake of the ‘call-to-action’ and publish their pathways to net-zero; and, developing a pipeline ofbankable projects for green finance, including through the work of the UK Cities Climate Investment Commission and the £500m Green Bond I recently announced.

Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and London (1)

Leonie Cooper: When was the most recent assessment of the number of SINCs in London made? When will this be updated?

The Mayor: My London Plan requires boroughs to identify SINCs thorough their Local Plan process. Greenspace Information for Greater London (GIGL) maintain the definitive data set of SINCs on behalf of the Mayor and boroughs. They update the SINC data set on a rolling basis to incorporate the most up to date information from Local Plans.
My officers work closely with GIGL, through our Partnership Agreement, to improve the data available relating to SINCs and how they are recorded. This has resulted in the creation of a new ‘Proposed SINC’ data set that records new SINCS that have been identified through habitat surveys but not yet formally adopted through the Local Plan process. We have also supported GIGL to publish the first ever open data set of SINCs in the country on the London Data Store. The open data is updated annually and was last updated 2 months ago.

Cooling Strategy and the Elizabeth line (2)

Leonie Cooper: Does the Elizabeth line contribute to helping older sections of London's tube network become cooler?

The Mayor: As there is limited thermal connectivity between the Elizabeth line and the rest of the Tube network, it does not help cool other sections of the Tube network.

The cost of a bee-friendly bus stop

Siân Berry: Transport for London (TfL) recently ran a trial of bee-friendly bus stops with green roofs. Could you confirm the cost, based on this trial, to adapt or create individual bee-friendly bus stops?

The Mayor: Transport for London has been running a trial in Lewisham which aims to assess how cost-effective green bus shelter roofs would be at providing improved biodiversity. Bespoke shelters were developed for the trial, designed to support the additional roof weight, a drainage board, soil and vegetation.
The cost to replace an existing bus shelter with a new green roof bus shelter is circa £9,700. In addition to this, there are associated ongoing maintenance (watering and weeding) costs.
This trial is still ongoing, with final conclusions expected to be available at the end of 2022.

Bus stop guidance

Siân Berry: The Transport for London (TfL) Bus Action Plan says that you will seek to improve the experience of bus passengers by upgrading and maintaining bus stops. What guidance does TfL currently publish for boroughs and others who manage bus stops so that they can improve the experience of bus passengers?

The Mayor: Transport for London published the latest version of the Accessible Bus Stop Design Guidance in 2017. It can be found at https://content.tfl.gov.uk/bus-stop-design-guidance.pdf.

LLDC - public grants (2)

Nick Rogers: Can you provide a breakdown of said amounts of public grant, subsidy or funding, per organisation?

The Mayor: In addition to the response in MQ 2022/2188, LLDC provides funding to local organisations through its Neighbourhood Priorities Fund, Carbon Offset Fund and through Section 106 allocations. Details of allocations can be found in the most recently published Infrastructure Funding Statement, which can be found here.
The latest Carbon Offset Fund bidding round closed on 16 June 2022 while the 2022 bidding round for the Neighbourhood Priorities Fund is currently open, with details found here. Details of allocations will be made public later this year.
In addition to the above, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park’s construction and skills academy, Build East (which has delivered my Good Work for All and ESF Greening Construction programmes and is part of two Mayoral Green Skills Academies: Local London Green and Digital Mayoral Academy (LLGDMA)) is in receipt of £100,000 of match funding from LLDC in 2022/23. Hobs Academy, which offers training in 3D Print technologies, Digital Visualisation and Architectural and Product Modelmaking, is in receipt of £60,000 in match funding for 2022/23.

Developing Green Skills in London (3)

Leonie Cooper: Please provide an update on the Keeping it Wild programme, including aims, number of those supported through and outcomes or expected outcomes?

The Mayor: The London Wildlife Trust’s “Keeping it Wild” programme aims to encourage diversity and inclusivity in the natural heritage sector. I have awarded grant funding towards the 2021-2024 programme, which offers 40 paid traineeships for young people aged 16-25 from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, from areas of deprivation, or with disabilities.
Trainees develop skills in conservation, surveying and monitoring, and environmental education. The traineeships last for 16 weeks, with cohorts of five trainees. To date, one cohort has completed and the second is underway. All trainees come from BAME backgrounds so far.
Trainees from cohort 1 reported learning new skills (conservation, community engagement and communications), as well as gaining more knowledge about job opportunities in the sector. Based on outcomes from LWT’s previous programme we anticipate that at least 70% of trainees will go on to paid roles in the sector or undertake further study of the natural environment.

Developing Green Skills in London (4)

Leonie Cooper: Please provide an update on the Green Spaces Skills Hub, including identified skill gaps, training programmes, funding available for Green Spaces Skills and outcomes or expected outcomes of the hub’s work?

The Mayor: The Green Spaces Skills hub is part of the wider Mayor’s Academies Programme and is led by Groundwork London and Parks for London. The GLA is funding £250k over two years. The hub should support the delivery of the skills recommendations in the London Green Space Commission Report. It brings together parties involved with London’s green space improvements, with a particular focus on sharing the skills and knowledge needed to meet the landscape challenges of climate change, and attracting, supporting and diversifying new entrants into this changing workforce, with getting Londoners into employment a key outcome.
The hub is in the early phases of mobilisation and detailed design. An initial meeting of partner organisations (including pan-London organisations, horticultural employers, training providers, industry lead bodies and developers) was held on 28 April to discuss the key workstreams and likely priorities for these.

Public Asset Sales and the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill

Caroline Pidgeon: On 8 June 2022 Munira Wilson MP secured agreement from the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, that the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill should include a provision that public sector owned assets can be sold below market value for social and community benefit. Given this news will you pause the sale of Metropolitan Police assets such as Teddington and Notting Hill Police Stations?

The Mayor: MOPAC has already paused the disposals of Teddington and Notting Hill Police Stations. MOPAC will set out its position on whether social value will be a relevant factor when considering disposals of property in due course.

1000 New Homes for Rough Sleepers (1)

Sem Moema: How is your manifesto commitment to construct 1000 new homes for rough sleepers progressing?

The Mayor: I am delivering both homes and much-needed support for former rough sleepers through my Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme and Move On Programme. As at 10 June, over 1,200 homes have been started, over 800 of which started since April 2021. I have allocated funding for further schemes that will start during 2022-23, so am on track to meet or exceed the 1,000 homes commitment.

1000 New Homes for Rough Sleepers (2)

Sem Moema: What support is the GLA providing to councils to build 1000 new homes for rough sleepers?

The Mayor: We are supporting the delivery of homes and support for rough sleepers through my Rough Sleeping Accommodation Programme (RSAP) and Move On Programme (MOP). Registered providers with Investment Partner Status are eligible for these programmes and my team works closely with both local authorities and housing associations to support them both to develop bids and with their ongoing delivery. More than half of allocations to date through RSAP have been for local authority schemes. Through RSAP and MOP I am providing more than £190m in funding. This is not just capital funding for the homes themselves but also revenue funding to deliver the much-needed support for former rough sleepers.

Tourism in Brent

Krupesh Hirani: Can you provide a breakdown of:
the number of overnight stays made by tourists in Brent over the last three years?


the annual spend of tourists in Brent over the last three years?

The Mayor: Unfortunately Data from the Office of National Statistics relating to overnight tourism based on the International Passenger Survey is only available at a London-wide level.

Right to Buy for Housing Associations

Sem Moema: What is your opinion on the idea of allowing housing association tenants to be allowed to buy their homes under Right to Buy and the impact on London?

The Mayor: The government’s proposal to extend the Right to Buy policy to housing association tenants represents the wrong priority at the wrong time. Despite announcing this proposal previously, Ministers have never managed to make it work or explain how the discounted sale price will be funded. We know from the Right to Buy for council housing that the government has failed to replace homes sold on a 1 for 1 basis.
Unless an effective regime is developed to ensure 1 for 1 replacement can be achieved, we will see an overall loss of the most affordable homes, just when families are facing a cost of living crisis.

Housing in the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill

Sem Moema: What is your assessment of the housing polices set out in the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill and the impact on London?

The Mayor: I support the objective of Levelling Up, which must of course recognise the inequalities across London and the need to ‘level up’ the capital. But I am very concerned about the planning measures set out in the bill. As drafted they represent a centralising power-grab which will have a chilling effect on London’s ability to plan for its own needs. They also risk undermining the progress we have made in recent years on increasing supply, on building more affordable housing, on design standards and on making development more sustainable. In particular, the proposed Infrastructure Levy could undermine the delivery of infrastructure and of much needed social housing.

Peabody & Former Crown Estates (1)

Sem Moema: Do you share my concerns that Peabody are rising rents by large amounts on the former Crown Estates? Does it go against the agreement that was made when the estates were sold to Peabody in 2011?

The Mayor: The Crown Estate portfolio was sold to Peabody in 2011 for letting to key workers at intermediate rents. We do not hold information on the rent increases on these properties, but were advised at time of transfer that the agreement was to hold these rents at 65% market rent for existing residents and 80% of market rent for new residents. As market rents rise, unfortunately these rents will also rise, supporting my call for rent control in London

Peabody & Former Crown Estates (2)

Sem Moema: How many key worker homes on the former Crown Estates have been sold off by Peabody since they took over management of the properties in 2011?

The Mayor: I do not hold information on the sale of key worker homes since 2011 by Peabody. I understand that the original agreement with Crown Estates was that for every 10 homes falling vacant, at least 9 had to be let to specified key workers at intermediate rents and 1 could be sold.

Support Grassroots Football Organisations in Hackney, Islington, and Waltham Forest

Sem Moema: What support can you provide to community-led and grassroots football organisations in Hackney, Islington, and Waltham Forest such as Hackney Wick Football Club (FC) who support the local community? Hackney Wick FC aim to raise £1 million over the next five years to support the building of their new stadium.

The Mayor: Hackney I have funded the MyEnds Programme through the VRU, involving community and grassroots football organisations. These include Hackney Wick FC, Neuro Pathways FC and Access2Sports. Hackney also has an ongoing partnership with Blackwall FC in Tower Hamlets and provides support to children and young people through this partnership.
These community football organisations/clubs offer youth led sports programmes involving weekly coaching and peer support for those young people identified as at risk through local council and neighbourhood consultation exercises. They provide enhanced support to vulnerable CYP over half term.
Hackney Wick FC have received substantial funding through MyEnds, delivering football and other sports interventions in the borough.
My Stronger Futures Programme funds Football Beyond Borders which teaches Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) girl-centred and co-produced with young people in Islington and surrounding areas, currently supporting girls aged 10-18 at risk of exclusion and/or poor mental health..

Healthy Early Years Settings

Krupesh Hirani: How many early years settings have received a Healthy Early Years London award? Can this be broken down by the four levels of accreditation and by borough?

The Mayor: A total of 1582 early years settings across London have received an award. Broken down, 1582 have achieved their First Steps, 361 of those have achieved their Bronze, 127 of those have achieved Silver and 28 have achieved a Gold Award. The table below provides borough level data:
Borough
First Steps
Bronze
Silver
Gold
Barking and Dagenham
46
11
0
0
Barnet
93
46
13
1
Bexley
10
0
0
0
Brent
3
0
0
0
Bromley
176
12
9
0
Camden
15
13
0
0
City of London
7
4
0
0
Croydon
57
8
0
0
Ealing
25
5
0
0
Enfield
46
10
4
0
Greenwich
57
36
31
0
Hackney
34
17
12
0
Hammersmith and Fulham
45
6
2
0
Haringey
39
14
5
1
Harrow
50
16
8
4
Havering
72
16
11
6
Hillingdon
19
4
1
1
Hounslow
33
7
3
1
Islington
77
24
8
8
Kensington and Chelsea
59
12
3
0
Kingston-upon-Thames
46
10
0
0
Lambeth
27
5
0
0
Lewisham
78
7
4
3
Merton
53
10
1
0
Newham
15
0
0
0
Redbridge
24
7
6
3
Richmond-upon-Thames
55
7
0
0
Southwark
39
3
1
0
Sutton
50
7
1
0
Tower Hamlets
79
9
1
0
Waltham Forest
36
12
1
0
Wandsworth
43
6
1
0
Westminster
74
17
1
0
TOTAL
1582
361
127
28

Support Community-Led Organisations in Hackney, Islington, and Waltham Forest

Sem Moema: What support can you provide to community-led organisations in Hackney, Islington, and Waltham Forest such as De Beauvoir Welcomes Refugees who support refugee families in North East London?

The Mayor: What support can you provide to community-led organisations in Hackney, Islington, and Waltham Forest such as De Beauvoir Welcomes Refugees who support refugee families in North East London?
Across the city, there are local authorities, health services, businesses, charities, volunteers and many others who want to help refugees fleeing their homes. It is not enough to just welcome refugees to our city. We need to work together to help them become part of London and be active citizens who feel connected to their communities.
That is why in my social integration strategy All of Us, I committed to champion refugee resettlement in London through Community Sponsorship.
My Refugee Resettlement Coordinator works to help community groups co-ordinate support to help refugees make London their home. My English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) Coordinator has provided specific expertise to groups, and published the ESOL for Resettlement Guidance (https://www.london.gov.uk/publications/english-language-esol-resettlement).
My £50,000 Community Sponsorship capacity-building programme provides funding to Reset, the national Community Sponsorship co-ordinator, to manage a small grants fund for organisations who take on the legal responsibility of local groups working to welcome refugees under the scheme.

Cycle Superhighway Maintenance (1)

Neil Garratt: London’s earliest Cycle Superhighways have now been in place for many years, so through use and weathering are suffering surface deterioration. Prior to the pandemic, what was TfL’s maintenance and resurfacing schedule for the Cycle Superhighways?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) inspects Cycleways every one or four weeks depending on location and use. Safety defects are then graded by trained Highway Inspectors and defects repaired based on risk; either within 1 hour or up to 28 days dependant on severity.
In addition, traction testing is carried out annually on all segregated cycleways, specifically testing for grip. If grip standards are below the industry recognised threshold, the surface is replaced.
During the pandemic there was no pause to TfL’s essential annual maintenance. While TfL’s blue-surfaced cycleways can sometimes have cracked or faded blue surfaces, this would not normally constitute a safety concern.

Infrastructure and Construction Careers

Neil Garratt: Last month you launched a primary school outreach programme that aims to “showcase potential career paths in the infrastructure and construction sectors to pupils across London”. From which budget is this being funded and by how much and how will this programme’s success be measured?

The Mayor: Joint funding for Building Future London primary school outreach is sourced from the Infrastructure Policy and Workforce Integration Network Programme budgets via ADD 2567, which can be found online on london.gov.uk. The total budget for this project is £41,667.
The programme will be measured through a planned impact evaluation assessment. Baseline and endline evidence will be gathered from children and teachers at the 30 primary schools, to capture children’s job aspirations and interest in the infrastructure and construction sectors. A number of quantitative and qualitative measures will be evaluated through interviews, case studies and surveys.

Understanding the post-pandemic changes to London's economy

Neil Garratt: What work are you doing to understand the post-pandemic changes to London's economy, transport needs, and working patterns?

The Mayor: London’s economy has experienced dramatic changes over the last two and a half years – owing to the pandemic, Brexit and now the cost-of-living crisis.
The GLA’s City Intelligence Unit and Transport for London researchers closely assess developments and publish analysis where possible.
This workhas helped us to identify and examine a series of trends and challenges:inflation is very high;the labour market is weak;many more people are working at home;tourism remains down;and the social consequences of the pandemic have seen a rise in obesity, anxiety and depression.
We’re tackling these head on through the London Recovery Board and the Economic Recovery Framework – and the signs from this huge cooperative enterprise are positive. We’ve also launched a series of major campaigns to bring domestic and international tourism back to London.

Cost of USA Trip

Neil Garratt: In light of your response to question 2022/1645 that the cost of your trip to the USA isn't yet available, when the final cost is available, will there be an updated answer to question 2022/1645 or will we have to ask a new question?

The Mayor: Please see my response to 2022/1645

Sandilands Fatigue Management Lessons

Neil Garratt: A great deal of work has been done to improve fatigue management processes on the Croydon Tram since the fatal Sandilands crash in 2016. What work have you done to spread these improvements to the TfL bus network?

The Mayor: Following the tragedy at Sandilands, Transport for London (TfL) commissioned Loughborough University and the Swedish Road Transport Industry to research bus driver fatigue. Their Bus Driver Fatigue Report was published in 2019 (https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/publications-and-reports/bus-safety-data). TfL then established a Fatigue workstream as part of the Bus Safety Programme, which includes a bi-monthly Bus Fatigue Working Group with London’s bus operators. The bus operators also regularly hold their own internal fatigue working groups.
Please see my responses to previous questions 2022/0466, 2022/0332, 2022/0333, 
2022/0329, 2022/0330, 2022/0331, 2022/0326, 2022/0327, 2022/0328, 2022/0323, 2022/0324, 2022/0325, 2022/0320, 2022/0321, 2022/0322, 2022/0318, 2022/0319 which provide details of the work TfL and bus operators have done in response to the recommendations in the report.

Mayor’s Academies Programme

Krupesh Hirani: Three of the Mayor’s Academies Programme (MAP) hubs will be focused on the health sector. Can you provide an update on the delivery of these?

The Mayor: The Mayor’s Academies Programme (MAP) is designed to help address skills shortages in sectors key to London’s recovery, including health, and is designed to support Londoners most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic into good work. The hubs are currently being rolled out, with progress on their first full quarter of delivery due to be reported after the end of Q1 2022/23. A second round of hub funding, focussing on social care, will launch in early summer and go live in the autumn 2022. Successful social care hubs will need to demonstrate the link between social care and the existing health hubs.

LFB Training

Nick Rogers: How will you make sure that the LFB is sufficiently trained to respond to electric vehicle battery fires? At the last Fire, Resilience and Emergency Planning meeting of the London Assembly, it was clear operational staff have little experience in this area.

The Mayor: Collaborative work is being undertaken with Imperial College London using national and international research to develop a workable solution for the management of electric vehicle fires. Once completed and an effective solution is available, this will be included in future training for all firefighters. Currently, awareness training on electric vehicle fires is provided to Firefighter Development Programme delegates by the HAZMAT team. A mandatory Operational News training briefing has been undertaken in April 2022 which was available to all firefighting staff and as part of this, a video package has been developed in collaboration with Professor Paul Christensen of Newcastle University which is widely available to all staff.

Electric Vehicle Battery Fires

Nick Rogers: Will you be asking LFB to undertake fire safety reviews of all bus garages in London following the Potters Bar Bus Garage fire?

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) is in the process of arranging follow-up fire safety audits on bus garages throughout London. These will be conducted throughout July 2022. These premises have been previously audited by the Transport Liaison Group under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Support Community-Led Organisation Get Rid of and Donate CIC

Marina Ahmad: What support can you provide to community-led organisations in Lambeth and Southwark such as Get Rid of and Donate CIC who collect donations of unwanted items by recycling them in the community and donating them to beneficiaries such as rough sleepers, refugees and asylum seekers, and vulnerable people?

The Mayor: Community led organisations, including those in Lambeth and Southwark, are at the heart of my Building Stronger Communities Mission, which focusses on ensuring London’s Voluntary and Community sector is strong and resilient.
The Building Stronger Communities Fund has been created to support the objectives of this mission. I announced the £1m community microgrants fund in July 2021 and launched it in Autumn 2021. Currently 35% of the funds have been allocated to community groups and the second funding round has just opened.
I am convening, supporting, and collaborating with London’s Voluntary and Community Sector infrastructure partners to lead networks of community and voluntary organisations. This includes supporting and promoting all types of volunteering, sharing good practice and funding digital platforms to support the sector.

Disorder following Operation Vespa in Hackney (3)

Caroline Russell: Were any officers or councillors at Hackney Council aware that the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) planned to carry out its action as part of Operation Vespa on 14 May 2022 in Ashwin Street and Kingsland High Street?

The Mayor: The MPS has inforrmed me that Council Enforcement Officers who work closely with the local Safer Neighborhood Teams were made aware of Operation Vespa.

London Plan and Biodiversity (1)

Leonie Cooper: What assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the London Plan in supporting and enhancing biodiversity? Are the inclusion of biodiversity net gain and the Urban Greening Factor starting to make a difference?

The Mayor: The London Plan sets strong policies to protect London’s existing biodiversity and to ensure new development positively contributes to enhancing biodiversity through Policies G6 (Biodiversity and access to nature) and G5 (Urban Greening). Urban Greening Factor (UGF) targets can help to deliver new wildlife habitats through development. The London Plan was adopted in March 2021 and as such, monitoring data on the impact of new policies is limited. The current London Plan AMR monitors protection of SINCs (Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation) and UGF scores for developments are being monitored as part of the Mayor’s Planning London Datahub (PLD). Information on this will be reported as part of the new London Plan Annual Monitoring Report (AMR) framework from spring 2023.

London Plan and Biodiversity (2)

Leonie Cooper: What further work will you be doing to protect the 214 priority species at risk in London?

The Mayor: The city’s network of Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) are particularly valuable for supporting populations of priority species. My £600,000 Rewild London Fund is supporting enhancements and improved connections between 52 SINCs, including projects that will reintroduce water vole and support other priority species such as pollinators and amphibians. My Rewilding Taskforce is now considering what further opportunities there are for rewilding approaches to restore nature, and how more funding can be leveraged to do this.
New developments have a role in linking SINCs and creating new habitats for priority species. I have already published London Plan Guidance on how to design urban greening to create space for nature. I am awaiting further clarity from Government on the implementation of the Biodiversity Net Gain requirement introduced by the Environment Act. Once this has been provided I will decide if it is necessary to publish further guidance.

London Plan and Biodiversity (3)

Leonie Cooper: Why has the updated All-London Green Grid Supplementary Planning Guidance still not been finalised?

The Mayor: However, since the publication of the London Plan, the government’s Environment Act 2021 introduced new mandatory Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS). It is anticipated that London will have to produce a LNRS, but government has yet to issue the guidance it has promised on the process which will have to be followed and additional resources.
An updated All London Green Grid will need to be complementary to an LNRS. Work to consult boroughs and stakeholders on updating the ALGG has therefore been temporarily paused until we have clarity from government about the scope of the LNRS and the GLA’s new statutory obligations

Household plastic waste

Leonie Cooper: Waste statistics for 2020-21 show that nationally recycling of plastics increased by 5.2 percent. Which forms of plastic waste does London need to target next in order to move closer to a circular waste economy?

The Mayor: In London, plastic makes up approximately 9% of the household waste stream (by weight) with plastic packaging accounting for nearly 70% of this. Most plastic packaging is single-use, and I will continue to focus on tackling this where possible.
In addition to the Refill London initiative and my partnerships with Zoological Society of London and Thames Water to install a network of drinking fountains, I am supporting a number of small and medium enterprises, which offer Londoners products to replace single-use plastics. Through ReLondon I am working with Imperial College to map existing low plastic zones/neighbourhoods in London and identify how greater coordination could support and increase local efforts.
32 of London’s boroughs now collect the six main dry recyclables, including plastic bottles and mixed rigid plastics (tubs, pots and trays) and this will increase to all boroughs for the first time by July of next year. Through the drafting of the next set of Reduction and Recycling Plans, I am also engaging with boroughs on the introduction of collections of additional plastics from households, such as plastic film and flexible packaging, ahead of the expected nationwide requirement for this by 2027.

Recycling and Incineration in London (1)

Leonie Cooper: The most recent figures show that 1062,000 tonnes (29.9 per cent of the capital’s total waste) was recycled compared to 2,280 000 tonnes (64.1 percent) that was incinerated. How are you working with London’s Councils to identify the barriers to recycling and to encourage a circular waste economy?

The Mayor: I am directly supporting boroughs to overcome the barriers to recycling. These include the dense urban environment with limited space for segregation of waste streams, the high proportion of Londoners who live in flats (up to 80 per cent in some areas) and the highly transient and diverse population which can make communications more difficult.
Through ReLondon, the statutory partnership with London’s boroughs, I am promoting the ReLondon Flats Recycling Package. I have made it available to all boroughs as it is proven to increase recycling in flats and I am encouraging all boroughs to roll it out locally. I am also ensuring boroughs increase their ambition through their Reduction and Recycling Plans and the GLA is reviewing their waste contracts and strategies.
My London Plan has a requirement to that developments be designed ‘with adequate, flexible, and easily accessible storage space and collection systems that support, as a minimum, the separate collection of dry recyclables (at least card, paper, mixed plastics, metals, glass) and food.’
Please see Mayor’s Question 2022/1965.

Recycling and Incineration in London (2)

Leonie Cooper: London has the highest percentage of incinerated waste across England, 16 per cent higher than the national average. Is this a barrier to encouraging better recycling and to movement towards a circular waste economy?

The Mayor: I have been consistently clear that I oppose new incineration capacity in London. I am focused on supporting boroughs to divert materials away from incineration through greater waste reduction and improved reuse and recycling.
Through ReLondon, I am promoting better public awareness of recycling through the London-wide campaign London Recycles. The campaign runs year-round with useful information for residents about effective recycling of all materials.
The ReLondon Flats Recycling Package I have made available to all boroughs is proven to increase recycling in flats. I am encouraging all boroughs to roll it out locally. I am also ensuring boroughs increase their ambition through their RRPs and my review of their waste contracts and strategies.
However, Government also needs to play their part and stop approving unnecessary new incineration capacity for London and make it compulsory that existing incinerators only manage truly non-recyclable waste.
Please see Mayor’s Question 2022/1964.

Fuel Poverty Partnership (1)

Leonie Cooper: Please provide an update on your work with the London Fuel Poverty Partnership.

The Mayor: The most recent meeting of my Fuel Poverty Partnership was held on 12 May 2022. In response to the current cost of living crisis it established a work plan for the year. The priority areas identified were the immediate cost of living crisis, tackling the health impacts of cold homes, the private rented sector, and a just decarbonisation of heat. Each of these areas will be addressed by a task and finish group over the summer, with actions and lobbying points being taken forward collectively by the Partnership.
Since the previous Partnership meeting my officers have worked to support thousands of Londoners through my Warmer Homes and Warmer Homes Advice Service programmes.

Fairer London

Susan Hall: Do you think London has become a fairer place under your mayoralty?

The Mayor: While London is a successful, prosperous global city, we still have high levels of deprivation, overcrowding is common, and the life expectancy of many Londoners is too closely linked to their financial situation.
Over the past six years, I’ve enabled more than 245,000 Londoners to work for organisations accredited by my Good Work Standard, which has fairness at its heart.
Having increased fourfold the number of Living Wage employers since 2016, we’re working towards making London a living wage city and I’ve improved the employment chances of young Black Londoners through my Workforce Integration Network.
I froze TfL fares for five years and introduced the Hopper Fare on London’s buses, benefitting households on the lowest incomes.
We’ve built more council homes for Londoners than at any time since the 1970s.
Of course, there are areas where persistent structural inequalities remain, and I’m working in partnership with London’s boroughs, businesses and voluntary and community sector organisations through the London Recovery Programme and other forums to address these issues.

Warmer Homes 3 and London Communities

Leonie Cooper: How will you bereaching out to all London communities as part of your Warmer Homes 3 marketing programme?

The Mayor: The increasing cost of living is a huge concern for many Londoners. My £43m Warmer Homes programme provides free heating, insulation and ventilation improvements for Londoners who have low incomes.
I am making extensive efforts to reach out to Londoners to promote this opportunity. This summer I will be contacting at least 280,000 London households in energy inefficient homes, inviting them to apply to my Warmer Homes programme. The communications are either direct or through joint communications with boroughs and I have already written to 35,000 homes across five boroughs. I am developing further marketing for the summer and autumn. Londoners can apply at www.london.gov.uk/warmerhomes.
I will also be working with community groups such as South East London Community Energy to reach out to households, while my Warmer Homes Advice Service will inform residents about the programme and assist vulnerable applicants through the process.

‘You Can’ Campaign

Hina Bokhari: Please provide an update on the progress of the London Fire Brigade’s ‘You Can’ campaign to attract talent from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

The Mayor: The ‘You can’ campaign, was run by TMP Worldwide in April 2022. Its aim was to primarily attract interest from ethnic minority groups and women to join the Brigade. The campaign resulted in 80 women and 129 people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities signing up to attend an information session to learn more about what the role of firefighter entails, speak to current firefighters and ask questions. London Fire Brigade continued to promote the campaign through its own social media channels later that month and attracted interest from a further 58 women and 92 people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities. Historically, face-to-face attraction at a grassroots level has been the one of the most effective ways to engage under-represented groups and now Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted, engagement with young people and communities has been reinvigorated. This is just one of several different approaches being taken to attract diverse talent, which will continue to evolve as lessons are learned about their effectiveness.

Jubilee weekend

Marina Ahmad: What was the economic impact of the Jubilee celebrations at the beginning of June 2022 for London?

The Mayor: The Platinum Jubilee was a wonderful celebration of Her Majesty the Queen. It also provided a major boost to London’s economy.
According to the New West End Company, the West End’s business partnership of 600 UK and international retailers, restaurateurs, hoteliers, galleries and property owners; the June four-day holiday attracted 2.2 million domestic and international tourists to the city centre and is forecast to contribute approximately £80 million.
Aviation data from ForwardKeys suggests that arrivals from the USA, Britain’s most valuable inbound tourism market, increased to 88 per cent of pre-pandemic levels for the Jubilee week, compared to 79 per cent in early May.
More widely, VisitEngland data suggested 5.3 million people were planning an overnight break over the Jubilee holiday; an estimated boost of £1.2 billion to the UK economy.

Potters Bar Garage Fire

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide a timeline for when Londoners can expect the buses, which were taken out of service in May due to a fire at Potters Bar Bus Garage, to be reintroduced to the network?

The Mayor: Buses were reintroduced into service from 26 May, with all vehicles back in service early the following week. Mitigation measures were put in place to prevent a reoccurrence.

Central London Bus Review (2)

Tony Devenish: If the responses to the Central London Bus Review Consultation show strong opposition to the current proposals, will you commit to pursuing alternatives?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL) reliance on customer fares for the majority of its income means the effect of the pandemic on its finances has been devastating, requiring Government support to keep public transport in London operating. Customer numbers have begun to recover but are still significantly below pre-pandemic levels.
The Government set a number of conditions before it would provide emergency funding to keep TfL operating. This included a requirement on TfL to produce a plan that sets out how it can make significant financial savings. This plan included reducing the extent of London’s bus network by four per cent in terms of kilometres run by buses. In order to make these savings, TfL is now consulting on proposed changes to the bus network, through its Central London Buse Review.
TfL will fully consider all responses to the public consultation, which will inform and help shape TfL’s decision-making on the proposed changes to the bus network. As such, the consultation could lead to changes to aspects of the proposals.

Safer Transport Teams

Unmesh Desai: What is the current budget of the Met’s Safer Transport Team? What percentage of this is provided by TfL?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Roads and Transport Policing Command’s “Safer Transport Team” budget for 2022/2023 is approximately £91m and is fully funded by TfL.

PCSOs

Tony Devenish: For each month of the past year, please provide the number of PCSOs based in each of the following boroughs:

• Westminster
• Kensington and Chelsea
• Hammersmith and Fulham

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) publishes workforce data every month which contains the number of PCSOs on each Ward in London.
Workforce data report | Metropolitan Police

Disorder following Operation Vespa in Hackney (2)

Caroline Russell: In the past year, how many reports of anti-social behaviour has the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) received from the local community about moped riders on Ashwin Street and Kingsland High Street?

The Mayor: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) advise that it is not possible to provide information for anti-social behaviour (ASB) at street level, nor specifically in relation to moped riders.

Police Influence on Public Spaces/Secured by Design (2)

Sakina Sheikh: How have the principles of Secured by Design been used to improve the public realm across London?

The Mayor: Secured by Design (SBD), the official police security initiative and one of the main tools for the Designing Out Crime Officer (DOCO), lists reductions in crime of up to 87% on new build housing estates, and a 61% on refurbished housing estates as part of their achievement.
Such achievements can lead to further savings of police costs and time, allowing valuable resources to be deployed elsewhere. This results in fewer victims of crime and the creation of safer communities.
Additionally, DOCO work is a key part of the police service’s problem-solving approach regarding issues facing our communities.
The principles of SBD can be found here: https://www.securedbydesign.com/.

Building Safety Act (2)

Sakina Sheikh: What impact will the new Building Safety Act have on fire safety in the Fire Safety London Plan Guidance?

The Mayor: As the draft Fire Safety London Plan Guidance (LPG) supports the implementation of the London Plan fire safety policies D12 and D5(B5) and cannot introduce new policy, the impact is similar to that for the London Plan as set out in MQ 2022/2092. The draft Fire Safety LPG provides advice to developers on how to address the requirements of the national Gateway One as well as the London Plan fire safety policies, where relevant.
Again, we are still waiting for revised Building Regulations that will strengthen the fire safety measures required in developments. The London Plan and LPG require the inclusion of an evacuation lift where a lift core will be provided and we are waiting for the government to address measures to support the evacuation of all building occupants should they choose to self-evacuate or are asked to do so by the fire service.

Building Safety Act (1)

Sakina Sheikh: What impact will the new Building Safety Act have on fire safety in the London Plan?

The Mayor: The London Plan requires all developments to achieve the highest standards of fire safety. The approach set out in the London Plan goes beyond the Building Regulations, for instance in terms of its policy on the provision of evacuation lifts and combustible materials on the external walls of buildings. The London Plan also goes beyond the Building Safety Act as it applies to all developments regardless of use and height.
However, the Building Safety Act 2022 increases the importance of complying with the fire safety policies in the London Plan. Compliance with the approach to fire safety set out in the London Plan ensures more fire safety information is available from the earliest stage of the building design and is more likely to have been considered alongside other design and policy requirements. This reduces potential design conflicts at later stages in the Building Safety Act’s gateway system. A clear fire safety strategy, supported by design measures, developed through the gateway system will make the occupation phase easier to manage for the accountable person.
We are, however, still waiting for much needed improvements to the Building Regulations, which are necessary to ensure the fire safety of buildings and do not just attempt to manage fire safety once a building is occupied.

Sprinklers in the Fire Safety LPG

Sakina Sheikh: Do you believe that there should be specific guidance as to when sprinklers should be included in fire safety measures for a development? If so, why was this not included in the draft Fire Safety London Plan Guidance document?

The Mayor: Yes, I believe in the importance of including sprinklers in developments. That is why schemes I fund as part of the London Development Panel (LDP2) and the Affordable Homes Programme 2021-26 must include automatic fire-suppression systems, including, but not limited to, sprinklers.
My London Plan and LPG provide guidance for the inclusion of fire suppression measures. London Plan policy D12 and the supporting Fire Safety LPG ask developers to set out how passive and active fire safety measures have been included in developments, which includes sprinklers. Paragraph 3.12.6 of the London Plan asks developers to explore the inclusion of suitable suppression systems at an early stage of building design.

Building Safety Act (3)

Sakina Sheikh: What impact will the new Building Safety Act have on fire safety in the planning system more widely?

The Mayor: The Building Safety Act will have a limited impact on fire safety in the planning system. The most relevant element of the Building Safety Act relating to planning is the introduction of the Gateway Systems. Gateway One for planning was introduced via existing regulations on 1 August 2021. Therefore relevant buildings are already being referred to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). However, neither the Act nor the National Planning Policy Framework provide guidance as to what weight planning decision makers should give to the advice received from the HSE.
Initial changes to the Building Regulations Approved Document B will further limit the use of combustible materials on the external walls of relevant buildings which will support the aims of the Act.

Retaining Talent from the LLDC

Sakina Sheikh: How will the GLA be looking to retain the talent from the LLDC when it begins its transition in 2023?

The Mayor: LLDC is very aware of the importance of managing and retaining talent during a period of change and is committed to working collaboratively with the GLA family to ensure that available opportunities are shared and showcased in a transparent and equitable way. To that end, talent discussions and collaboration between GLA bodies has already begun, with activity expected to step up over the coming months, and this will continue in earnest all the way through LLDC’s period of change.

Compulsory Purchase Order Reform

Sakina Sheikh: What assessment have you made of the Government’s proposals to form Compulsory Purchase Powers as set out in the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill and their impact on London?

The Mayor: I have long held the view, as set out in my London Housing Strategy and informed by the ‘Capital Gains: A Better Land Assembly Model for London’ research which I commissioned, that the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) regime requires reform. To be effective in unlocking land for the development of much needed new homes, CPO needs to become a tool which can be used quickly, easily and proactively for land assembly. CPO should also ensure a fair compensation price is paid, which enables the public sector to capture uplifts in land value resulting from development and secure community benefits.
I am pleased that the government has recognised the need to improve the CPO regime by streamlining guidance and processes, and I support the aim of addressing issues relating to ‘hope value’. My officers are taking a detailed look at the proposals and my response to the government’s consultation on the proposals will be published in due course.

National Development Management Policies

Sakina Sheikh: What is your assessment of how the Government’s proposal to introduce National Development Management Policies as part of the Levelling Up & Regeneration Bill will affect Londoners?

The Mayor: I am deeply concerned that the Bill risks seriously undermining the Government’s flagship levelling up policy by rolling back London’s strategic planning powers thereby stifling innovation and progress – including on areas such as net zero, fire safety and housing delivery - and turning back the clock on good planning policy by decades.
The Bill would mean that whenever there is conflict between national, one-size-fits-all policies and my London Plan, London’s local policies or London’s neighbourhood plans, the national policy would always take precedence, riding roughshod over local views and democracy. This is the opposite of giving power to communities as set out in the Bill.
Whilst imposing considerable additional barriers and hurdles to the Mayor’s power to produce a London Plan, the government is taking completely unlimited powers for itself to impose these national policies on communities without any meaningful public engagement requirements or transparent processes to make sure these national policies deliver the right outcomes.

Transition of LLDC’s Planning Powers to Boroughs

Sakina Sheikh: Are you able to update me on the discussions being held regarding the transition of the LLDC’s planning powers back to the relevant boroughs?

The Mayor: Plans to hand back town planning powers to the relevant boroughs are progressing well. LLDC and the four boroughs are working together on a range of areas to ensure a smooth transfer by the end of 2024. This includes collaborative work groups focusing on policy, development management and data transfer plus detailed discussions are ongoing on the workforce implications. All these workstreams are overseen by a Transition Planning Leads group which is made up of senior borough and LLDC officers. The decision to hand back town planning powers will be subject to my final approval shortly. This decision will be made via the Mayoral Decision-making process, in line with GLA governance procedures.

Taser Use in London (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Do you support the Home Office’s plans to allow special constables to carry Tasers?

The Mayor: The provision of Taser is an operational decision for the Commissioner. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) continually reviews the provision of Taser to its officers, but I understand at this time it will not be issuing Taser to Special Constables.
The MPS is currently focussing on the roll out of Taser to regular officers.

Taser Use in London (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: In 2020/21 police officers in London used Tasers 9,584 times. Does the amount of times Tasers have been deployed by Met officers in London concern you, and how are you working with the Met to try and reduce Taser use as much as possible?

The Mayor: Any use of force must be reasonable and proportionate and, of course, I am concerned to ensure that is the case. That is why the Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime oversees the use of force, including the use of Tasers, through a regular item at MOPAC’s Oversight Board.
Any use of force has to be justified by the officer involved and data on such use is collected and published by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS). These data show that Taser use accounts for 3% of all uses of force. The majority of Taser use results in de-escalation without recourse to physical force. Only 9.9% of these uses result in a firing, this is lower than the national average of between 11-13%.
I am aware that the MPS have put in place internal checks to ensure that Tasers are used appropriately. The MPS Taser Team review all Taser ‘Firings’ by MPS Taser officers. Lead Taser Instructors conduct the reviews, capturing organisational and operational learning. This is used to shape ongoing training for all Taser officers.
Further, I am aware that the MPS is in the process of creating a specific Taser Independent Advisory Group (IAG), ensuring that the group’s membership is diverse and relevant. This new group will listen to community representatives and feed their views into the MPS’s continuous development of Taser training.

Kingston Go Cycle Scheme

Caroline Pidgeon: Will you instruct TfL to complete the Go Cycle schemes in Kingston on Kingston Road and Ewell Road, resolving the safety issues and launching feasibility studies for the expansion schemes?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) remains supportive of Kingston’s Go Cycle programme. TfL has provided funding in line with borough requests and is working with the borough to understand the level of funding required to complete the two schemes in progress.

TfL Taxi & PH Financial Position

Keith Prince: What is the TfL Taxi & Private Hire financial position for accounting periods 2020/21 & 2021/22 and why has the Mayor failed to publish the figures for these periods?

The Mayor: There has been a delay in publishing Transport for London (TfL) annual financial summaries for taxi and private hire during the pandemic.
I’m aware that TfL is updating its figures for 2020/21 and 2021/22 and intends to publish them in the next few weeks.

E-Scooter Trial

Keith Prince: Will you update the Assembly on what TfL has learnt so far from its e-scooter trial?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) publishes headline metrics from the e-scooter rental trial on its website every four weeks (accessible at this link).
Over one million journeys were made during the first year of the trial, with the most popular hour between 5-6pm. There have been 16 serious injuries and no fatalities reported which, in the context of proportion of total trips that this comprises (0.002%), suggests the trial’s robust safety requirements have been effective in making the rental vehicles a safe mode of transport. The most common categories of feedback reported to operators are around parking (for example, being unable to find a nearby parking bay or end a ride) and geofencing (for example, interference with the ride due to GPS drift from the implementation of no-go and go-slow zones). This highlights the important of providing customers with enough parking bays and only using geofencing zones where necessary.
TfL will continue to learn from the trial as it continues. More information will be provided when TfL publishes its trial evaluation report after the trial ends.

The Olympic Park

Keith Prince: What progress have you made in improving the financial position of the Olympic Park?

The Mayor: LLDC has continued its work to drive a return to the public purse from its various assets on and around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, through the development of a Park-wide commercial strategy. All venues have now reopened post-lockdown and have begun to stage a variety of events including concerts at London Stadium and the Rugby League World Cup wheelchair tournament at Copper Box Arena in the autumn, while 3 Mills continues to generate significant trading income.
I recently announced that Major League Baseball would return to London Stadium in 2023, 2024 and 2026, building on the success of the London Series 2019 which generated £37 million for the London economy.
Work continues to drive long-term savings through invest-to-save initiatives at venues, particularly London Stadium, including investment in new seating systems and LED lighting. LLDC also generates income through various multi-year leasing agreements including its lease with Here East and from ‘meanwhile sites’ at Hackney Bridge (East Wick) and the new ABBA Arena (Pudding Mill Lane), which is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of additional visitors to the Park each year and further boost the local economy.
The Corporation is currently re-letting its operational contracts and will seek to increase income and drive down costs through new agreements. Development sites continue to yield returns with Chobham Manor Phase 4 nearing completion, work due to begin on East Wick Phase 2 this winter, and more details to be announced shortly on the delivery of remaining development sites.

Making sure those who must drive are supported

Emma Best: In relation to question 2022/1606, these measures do little to support Londoners who must drive certain journeys. The question is how do you make sure they are supported and not negatively impacted by your policies?

The Mayor: The policies set out in my Transport Strategy (MTS) are designed to achieve a shift from private car use to walking, cycling and public transport.
These policies will also benefit those who need to drive for certain journeys in London.
This is because, in the long-term, the only sustainable way to reduce congestion and ensure an efficient road network for those that need to drive is by reducing the volume of motorised traffic in London. Less traffic also means that everyone, including people driving, will benefit from better air quality, safer roads and more pleasant street environments. Without the policies in the MTS, traffic and congestion will increase, impacting everyone using London’s roads.
Transport for London (TfL) use modelling and analysis tools to understand the benefits and disbenefits of policies and schemes on all road users. TfL also use Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs) to consider the impacts of policies and schemes on people with protected characteristics as well as identifying mitigations for potential negative impacts. For example, the introduction of the central London Ultra Low Emission Zone and subsequent expansion to inner London were supported by £61m of scrappage funds to help those on low incomes, from disabled households, small businesses and charities to adapt to the scheme.

Social Housing Delivery (2)

Sem Moema: How does the 18,700 affordable homes started in 2021/22 compare against your manifesto commitments?

The Mayor: In 2021-22, the GLA supported the delivery of 18,722 genuinely affordable homes across London, despite the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, rising construction costs and Brexit. This achievement is a 40 per cent increase on the previous year’s figure and the highest number of GLA supported affordable housing starts since GLA records began in 2003.
This achievement directly delivers against my manifesto commitment to continue the record-breaking progress made on increasing the number of genuinely affordable homes built across London.
As at March 2022, 12,971 council homes have been started in London since 2018. This achievement delivers on a separate housing manifesto commitment to start building 10,000 new council homes across London.

Temporary Simultaneous Evacuation

Anne Clarke: How many buildings in London are subject to temporary simultaneous evacuation due to a) ACM related, b) non- ACM cladding issues, and c) other fire safety issues. Please provide figures for each borough, and the City of London.

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) collects data for buildings with a temporary suspension of ‘stay put’ where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place.
The figures can changeon a daily basiswhen interim measures are required, or a building is remediated and no longer requires the interim measures. The number of buildings where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place, asof15th June 2022, is presented by borough and by fire safety issue in the table below.
Local Authority
ACM related
Non-ACM related
Other Fire Safety Issue
Barking and Dagenham
1
20
2
Barnet
8
12
9
Bexley
0
3
0
Brent
10
23
15
Bromley
1
3
1
Camden
6
19
10
City of London
0
1
2
Croydon
4
21
11
Ealing
6
7
7
Enfield
1
2
0
Greenwich
6
60
7
Hackney
8
57
22
Hammersmith and Fulham
6
5
0
Haringey
1
9
8
Harrow
3
0
1
Havering
1
10
3
Hillingdon
0
14
2
Hounslow
1
15
6
Islington
13
39
11
Kensington and Chelsea
2
15
3
Kingston upon Thames
0
4
0
Lambeth
7
31
13
Lewisham
0
26
20
Merton
0
0
4
Newham
7
48
20
Redbridge
0
8
4
Richmond
0
1
0
Southwark
8
33
57
Sutton
0
6
15
Tower Hamlets
43
105
17
Waltham Forest
2
7
15
Wandsworth
8
13
7
Westminster
7
17
13
Total
160
634
305

TfL Bus Stops and Driveways

Len Duvall: In response to Question 2022/1091 you stated that particular issues should be raised with TfL. My constituents and I have been raising issues with TfL since January this year but have yet to receive an adequate explanation as to why TfL buses are standing at bus stop BB and blocking driveways on Charlton Road for prolonged periods and how this will be stopped from happening going forward. Please provide details of how this will be dealt with.

The Mayor: TfL informs me that bus stop BB on Charlton Road is an alighting point for route 202 and is not intended for use as a bus stand by other bus routes when they stop mid-route.
As a result of your question, Transport for London (TfL) has informed GoAhead and Stagecoach of the problem and the operators have issued communications to their drivers to remind them to use the designated bus stand opposite bus stop BD as a waiting point. A further reminder to this effect has been issued by the operators.
TfL will be deploying Network Traffic Controllers to this location to monitor compliance.

Social Housing Delivery

Sem Moema: Following the recent announcement that there have been 18,700 affordable homes started in 2021/22, what plans are in the pipeline to build even more in the coming years and how will these be genuinely affordable?

The Mayor: Under the 2016-23 Affordable Homes Programme my team is working to fulfil my target to deliver 116,000 affordable housing starts by 31 March 2023. To the end of March 2022 91,000 starts have been achieved under this programme. My new 2021-26 Affordable Homes Programme will deliver 35,000 affordable housing starts by 31 March 2026. I would urge the Government to provide me with more funding for affordable housing so that we can match the true scale of need in London.

London 2030 Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy

Keith Prince: Why is there no mention of the number of dedicated rapid taxi charge points required by 2025 & 2030 in the Mayor’s ‘London 2030 Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy’?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL) Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Strategy forecasts London could need around 40,000 to 60,000 charge points by 2030, of which up to 4,000 could be rapid charging points. This forecast considers the needs of high mileage essential road users, such as taxis, private hire, commercial vehicles and many others.
As of May 2022, there are 10,800 public charge points in London, around 750 of which are rapid charge points, a 150 per cent increase in infrastructure since 2019. To promote the greening of London’s iconic black cab fleet, TfL dedicated 84 of the 307 rapid charge points it delivered to the use of zero emission capable (ZEC) taxis only. This was enabled by funding received from Government and involved engagement with the trade on prime locations. There are also 16 rapid charging hubs across London that are available to taxis, with one hub dedicated to ZEC taxis only.
TfL has committed to continue to deliver taxi-dedicated rapid charging bays in locations where taxi drivers frequently work, subject to funding becoming available, working with the taxi industry to understand their specific charging requirements.

Taxi & Private Hire Best Practice

Keith Prince: The Department for Transport is currently in the process of updating Taxi & Private Hire licensing best practice. One element is driving proficiency of a higher standard than private motorists. Given advance driving tests were a commitment in your 2016 Taxi & Private Hire Action Plan, when will they be introduced?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor’s Question 2021/2850. In addition, the Department for Transport is carrying out a consultation on updates to its taxi and private hire best practice guidance. Once the updated guidance has been published, Transport for London will give consideration to all the points within it, including any guidance on advanced driving tests.

“In For Good” Principle

Sem Moema: What assessment has the GLA made of the “In For Good” principle? Has it been a success at supporting rough sleepers?

The Mayor: The In For Good principle requires that no person who has been sleeping rough who is placed emergency accommodation is asked to leave that accommodation without an offer of support to end their rough sleeping. This was first established by the Mayor for those accommodated under the Severe Winter Emergency Protocol (SWEP), with the Mayor securing agreement from all London councils to implement it in their SWEP emergency accommodation too. The Mayor and boroughs extended this principle to Covid-19 emergency accommodation set up as part of the Everyone In initiative. Fewer than one in four rough sleepers brought into hotels provided by the Mayor’s Covid-19 pandemic response returned to rough sleeping.This demonstrates the positive impact on outcomes for people who had been sleeping rough by committing to exploring every possible option for those who are brought in off the streets.

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan (6)

Elly Baker: In March 2012 the previous Mayor published his Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. Can you outline how Action 6 “TfL will work with the boroughs to ensure the schemes are delivered by the Games, and that they are well maintained beyond 2012” has been delivered over the past 10 years?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) and the boroughs worked hard to ensure that schemes delivered across the six Olympic host boroughs and beyond were in place ahead of the Games. These are still vibrant thriving places to this day – from Gillett Square in Dalston to Whitechapel market to Woolwich town centre. Part of their ongoing success is down to the continual maintenance that TfL and boroughs invest in their streets and public realm.
But we have not stopped there. My record investment in Healthy Streets since coming into office has delivered transformative improvements for walking and cycling, creating better places right across London. This includes completed and ongoing works at Old Street roundabout and station, Nine Elms, Stratford Gyratory, Highbury Corner, and substantial new and upgraded public realm outside stations on the recently opened Elizabeth line.

Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan (7)

Elly Baker: In March 2012 the previous Mayor published his Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. Can you outline how Action 7 “TfL will work with GLA and boroughs to ensure that the Olympic legacy SPG, borough development plans, masterplans and planning applications support the coordination of land use and transport planning to build on the area’s exceptional public transport infrastructure, creating a network of strategic and local connections that will fully integrate the Olympic Park and Stratford into their surroundings and with travel planning to achieve a modal shift towards more active and sustainable forms of transport” has been delivered over the past 10 years?

The Mayor: The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) was founded in April 2012 after the publication of the Olympic and Paralympic Transport Legacy Action Plan. The LLDC is directly accountable to Londoners through the Mayor of London and acts as the planning authority for the area around and including Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Transport for London (TfL) has worked closely with LLDC and the host boroughs to support the delivery of Good Growth and my Transport Strategy. This includes supporting the development of the LLDC Local Plan published in July 2020 and host borough local plans. TfL also work to ensure that individual developments and masterplans reflect the Good Growth policies and Transport Strategy objectives – including through enhancing cycle parking, improving the walk and cycle environment, reducing car parking as well as seeking contributions for transport infrastructure.

Moped Crime

Unmesh Desai: Can you provide us with a breakdown of crimes involving mopeds across the last three years?

The Mayor: Please refer to attached spreadsheet for the period 1st June 2019 to 31st May 2022 that provides a breakdown of all notifiable offences with the feature code indicating that a suspect was riding moped/scooter/motorcycle at the time of the offence.
Please ensure that the Notes Page is read in conjunction with the data in this report to ensure that this is interpreted correctly.

The Mayor: 1991_Moped Crime.xlsx

Switch Mobility Buses

Caroline Pidgeon: In May 2022, Switch Mobility asked the operators, which use its double decker electric buses, to temporarily withdraw them from service following a fire at the Potters Bar Bus Garage. What was the estimated cost to TfL for taking 90 buses out of service for the period of the investigation?

The Mayor: Transport for London did not bear any operational cost for the withdrawal of these vehicles. Mileage lost due to the withdrawal was deducted from the bus operator payments, using the standard route-level deduction process.
Replacement vehicles were used, which minimised the impact on service performance, customers and lost revenue.

Oxford Street (2)

Tony Devenish: Does the Mayor recognize that more people go shopping by bus than by bike?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) does not hold data relating specifically to how people travel to Oxford Street but can provide information on the share of trips to the London Borough of Westminster for the purpose of shopping by mode. This comes from TfL’s London Travel Demand Survey, which is a household survey of London residents and their travel behaviour.
Please see the table below, which indicates that the majority of shopping trips to Westminster are made on foot (63%) and, in total, just less than one third of trips are made by public transport. The share of trips made by private modes is low (6 per cent in total) and the share of trips made by cycling to Westminster for shopping is less than 1 per cent.
Table: Mode share of trips to London Borough of Westminster for shopping, LTDS 3 year average 2017/18-2019/20
Mode
Mode share
National Rail/ Overground
4%
Underground/ DLR
16%
Bus
11%
Taxi/ Other
2%
Car driver
3%
Car passenger
1%
Cycle
0.3%
Walk
63%
Total
100%

Waltham Forest Local Plan

Emma Best: Waltham Forest Council’s Local Plan has recently been examined by the Planning Inspectorate who found “significant concerns in relation to the legal compliance and soundness”. This is of great concern to the wider strategic delivery of housing in London. Please will you urge Waltham Forest Council to listen to the inspectorate’s advice and implement improvements to the Plan speedily to ensure the positive delivery of housing in this borough which in turn will support your own aims through the London Plan?

The Mayor: The GLA planning team have worked closely with the London Borough of Waltham Forest throughout the development of their Local Plan to ensure general conformity with the London Plan.
In December 2020 I responded to London Borough of Waltham Forest’s Local Plan Part 1: Strategic Policies consultation, raising concerns over the lack of evidence to support their ambition to exceed the Intend to Publish London Plan housing target.
I asked the Council to provide evidence to show that their housing figure was deliverable, and my team offered to work with them to help achieve Waltham Forest’s housing ambitions.
In March 2022 the GLA and Waltham Forest agreed a statement of common ground to support the Local Plan examination. This included agreement to include the London Plan housing target within the Local Plan and to make transparent the evidence for how Waltham Forest propose to exceed it.
Waltham Forest have now committed to producing further evidence for the Planning Inspectors by September 2022 and my team will continue to work closely with them to help deliver a positive outcome for housing delivery in the borough.

Housing in the Royal Docks (1)

Sakina Sheikh: How is the GLA working to ensure the regeneration of the Royal Docks results in the homes Londoners need?

The Mayor: The GLA is working in partnership with LB Newham to deliver the comprehensive regeneration of the Royal Docks. The Royal Docks is London’s only Enterprise Zone, and the Royal Docks Team was established as a joint initiative between the Mayor of London and the Mayor of Newham to oversee the redevelopment of the area and to work with local communities and stakeholders to deliver the change that is needed.
The Royal Docks Delivery Plan, the Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) and the LB Newham Local Plan set out the various projects and development sites that will contribute towards the regeneration. Specifically, on GLA land there are major housing developments underway or proposed at Silvertown, Royal Albert Wharf, Thameside West and Royal Eden Dock. These will include a significant proportion of genuinely affordable homes. In some instances, proposals have been amended to increase the number of affordable homes.

London Fire Brigade - Grievances 3

Susan Hall: Could you please confirm which LFB departments had the most staff grievances in 2021?

The Mayor: The data shows grievances that have been lodged by London Fire Brigade (LFB) employees via the online system. These are subject to a sift which does not always result in the grievance proceeding further.
Department
2021
Fire Safety
1
Fire Stations
13
Total, excluding sick pay grievances
14
The data shown above excludes sick pay grievances. Although sick pay grievances are raised in accordance with the Brigade’s grievance procedure, they are managed separately. This process is for employees to request an extension to their occupational sick pay when their entitlement to full or half pay is ending. The data shown below includes these grievances.
Department
2021
Fire Safety
1
Fire Stations
63
Total, including sick pay grievances
64

London Fire Brigade - Grievances 4

Susan Hall: Can you please confirm how many grievances have been lodged by LFB staff in the last 6 months?

The Mayor: The data shows grievances that have been lodged by London Fire Brigade (LFB) employees via the online system. These are subject to a sift which does not always result in the grievance proceeding further.
Year
2022
Grievances, excluding sick pay grievances
4
The data shown above excludes sick pay grievances. Although sick pay grievances are raised in accordance with the Brigade’s Grievance Procedure, they are managed separately. This process is for employees to request an extension to their occupational sick pay when their entitlement to full or half pay is ending. The data shown below includes these grievances.
Year
2022
Grievances, including sick pay grievances
18

Central London Bus Review Consultation (1)

Tony Devenish: A number of my constituents have written to me, complaining about the unnecessary complexity of the Central London Bus Review Consultation, and the fact that so many of these questions refer to colour, creed and sexual orientation. Do you accept that many respondents will have no interest in answering these questions, that they deem irrelevant to their views on changes to central London’s bus network?

The Mayor: Given the scale of the proposed changes to the central London bus network, I would agree that this is a complex consultation. However, in planning it, Transport for London (TfL) has taken steps to ensure that this is an inclusive and accessible consultation that encourages London’s diverse communities to take part.
You reference consultation questions relating to a respondent’s demographic data. TfL has confirmed that these questions are asked only as part of the registration process on its Have Your Say consultation website. These questions are optional during registration and are not part of the Central London Bus Review consultation questionnaire itself.
TfL collects this data to better understand which communities are responding to consultations and, more importantly, which groups are not. By knowing this, TfL can identify where more action may be required to ensure its consultations are inclusive and accessible to all. This approach to collecting demographic data is common across the public and private sector, and helps TfL meet its public sector equality duty.

Waking Watch Relief Fund

Anne Clarke: How many grants have been made from this fund to date? Please provide a breakdown since the funds began, showing the size of grant and date of grant award.

The Mayor: As at 17 June 2022, 86 grant payments have been authorised from the Waking Watch Relief Fund totalling £7,885,841.
Waking Watch Relief Fund
Payment amount (£)
Date of payment authorisation
277,888
Aug 25, 2021
17,040
Sep 10, 2021
82,368
Sep 10, 2021
68,782
Sep 22, 2021
103,040
Sep 24, 2021
82,658
Sep 24, 2021
37,883
Sep 24, 2021
25,328
Oct 4, 2021
124,399
Oct 11, 2021
50,890
Oct 19, 2021
118,103
Oct 21, 2021
327,600
Oct 22, 2021
161,280
Oct 27, 2021
201,462
Oct 28, 2021
111,240
Nov 1, 2021
99,836
Nov 1, 2021
68,577
Nov 3, 2021
291,301
Nov 3, 2021
39,294
Nov 3, 2021
133,527
Nov 4, 2021
20,665
Nov 4, 2021
145,718
Nov 8, 2021
103,631
Nov 9, 2021
69,600
Nov 10, 2021
143,040
Nov 15, 2021
27,810
Nov 18, 2021
45,665
Nov 25, 2021
121,125
Nov 25, 2021
67,547
Dec 7, 2021
153,335
Dec 7, 2021
25,760
Dec 8, 2021
20,592
Dec 8, 2021
38,334
Dec 8, 2021
115,425
Dec 9, 2021
90,058
Dec 9, 2021
81,949
Dec 9, 2021
91,096
Dec 9, 2021
73,901
Dec 9, 2021
129,003
Dec 10, 2021
83,717
Dec 10, 2021
9,471
Dec 13, 2021
134,330
Dec 15, 2021
44,062
Dec 15, 2021
97,875
Dec 16, 2021
119,100
Dec 17, 2021
80,651
Dec 17, 2021
47,769
Dec 17, 2021
361,219
Dec 17, 2021
28,857
Dec 21, 2021
28,702
Dec 21, 2021
20,487
Dec 21, 2021
22,775
Dec 21, 2021
18,476
Dec 21, 2021
6,332
Dec 23, 2021
98,031
Jan 6, 2022
143,023
Jan 11, 2022
65,815
Jan 11, 2022
67,547
Jan 12, 2022
53,692
Jan 12, 2022
151,366
Jan 13, 2022
53,692
Jan 17, 2022
114,848
Jan 26, 2022
90,312
Feb 1, 2022
56,843
Feb 1, 2022
56,541
Feb 1, 2022
11,016
Feb 2, 2022
46,872
Feb 4, 2022
165,288
Feb 9, 2022
50,365
Feb 16, 2022
40,320
Mar 1, 2022
22,680
Mar 4, 2022
36,360
Mar 4, 2022
128,761
Mar 4, 2022
309,845
Mar 8, 2022
-820*
Mar 9, 2022
140,008
Mar 9, 2022
146,909
Mar 15, 2022
55,707
Mar 23, 2022
30,282
Mar 23, 2022
33,583
Mar 28, 2022
99,728
Apr 12, 2022
169,810
Apr 13, 2022
121,116
Apr 26, 2022
72,825
May 18, 2022
141,974
Jun 1, 2022
20,929.00
Jun 16, 2022
* This funding has been reclaimed from the applicant concerned, as the costs of the fire alarm installation were £820 lower that the original quote.

Measuring Trust and Confidence in the Police

Caroline Pidgeon: Aside from the MOPAC Public Attitude Surveys, how are you ensuring continual engagement with Londoners on issues of trust and confidence in the police, particularly those groups for which confidence is lowest?

The Mayor: As well as the Public Attitude Survey, through my Office for Policing and Crime I have recently launched the London Youth Survey which has captured the experiences of almost 12,000 young Londoners from wide ranging ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.
As part of my Action Plan for Transparency, Accountability and Trust in policing, quarterly public review events are held in partnership with local communities and community organisations. The sixth of these events took place on 16th June in Brixton, which also included the launch of the review of what the future of accountable and representative community-led engagement with policing should look like. I am delighted that Black Thrive, a leading Black-led, London-based organisation have been commissioned to deliver this work, which will be co-produced with communities from the outset, and will engage communities from marginalised backgrounds throughout. We expect the recommendations from this work in November.

Police Commenting on Planning Applications (3)

Sakina Sheikh: What are the benefits and disadvantages for having a formal role for the Metropolitan Police when commenting on a planning application?

The Mayor: The benefits of having a formal role are that it enables the Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) to influence the built environment to, for instance, avoid the creation of spaces known to enable/protect crime, and to put in place preventative measures. This is a pro-active initiative to achieve sustainable reductions in crime, with the opportunity to ensure fewer victims, and lessen additional demand on the police and thereby freeing resources for other operational needs.
There is no disadvantage from a crime prevention and community safety perspective to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) having a formal role when commenting on a planning application.

Fire Brigade Commenting on Planning Applications (1)

Sakina Sheikh: How many times has the London Fire Brigade commented on planning applications in each of the past 10 years?

The Mayor: Fire and Rescue Services are not statutory consultees under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. However, London Fire Brigade (LFB) is asked by planning departments, designers, engineers, and others for fire safety advice, usually for matters relating to access for firefighters and water supplies.
Until March 2021, planning advice requests were not recorded by LFB as a specific category.
Therefore, the data for this specific area available is included for dates available in the table below:
1 April 2021 – 31 March 2022
1,073
1 April 2022 – 14 June 2022
287

Police Commenting on Planning Applications (1)

Sakina Sheikh: How many times has the Metropolitan Police commented on planning applications in each of the past 10 years?

The Mayor: Comments in relation to planning applications split into two categories. Those relating to Designing Out Crime Officers (DOCOs) and those relating to other matters.
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Designing Out Crime Officers responded to 18,773 planning applications and developments since January 2013. An annual breakdown is not available. The MPS has not recorded comments in relation to other ad hoc responses to planning applications and developments.

Police Commenting on Planning Applications (2)

Sakina Sheikh: On what grounds would the Metropolitan Police usually comment on a planning application?

The Mayor: Designing out Crime Officers (DOCOs) respond to all major planning applications where there is an opportunity to influence the built environment in order achieve sustainable reductions in crime, for example, avoiding unnecessary alleyways, secure & climb resistant fencing, public areas, car parking and private areas being well lit. The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is also allowed to ask Local Planning Authorities (LPA’s) for a financial contribution where new dwellings and other development increases the need for policing, leading to a legitimate infrastructure requirement on the MPS. The MPS might comment on a planning application if it could have an impact on its estate or policing operations.

TXe 'For Hire' Light

Keith Prince: Are the Mayor & TfL working with LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) to find a solution to the confusion experienced by the public due to the illumination issue of the TXe 'For Hire' light?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is not aware of any complaints from the public about the ‘For Hire’ light on the TXe. Concerns have been raised with TfL by a taxi trade stakeholder and TfL has relayed these concerns to the vehicle manufacturer, LEVC, as this is a matter for them to consider.

22 May Fire at Metroline’s Potters Bar Bus Depot (1)

Keith Prince: On 22 May, “a number” of TfL Buses were destroyed by a large fire at Metroline’s Potters Bar Bus Depot in Hertfordshire, a blaze which resulted in all Switch Mobility Metrodecker EV Buses in the UK—including 90 operating under contract to TfL— being withdrawn from service while the causes of the fire were investigated.
Please provide me with:
1) Copies of any communication from TfL to Bus Operators asking for the Switch Mobility Metrodecker EV Buses to be withdrawn from Service;
2) If applicable, copies of any economic or financial analysis of costs that would (a) accrue to TfL as a result of this fire and (b) result from any actions TfL was forced to take to mitigate the change in services imposed by the fire

The Mayor: Owing to the urgency of the situation, discussions with Switch Mobility and the bus operators regarding the withdrawal of the Metrodecker EV buses from service were carried out via conference call and telephone.
Please see my responses to Mayor’s Questions 2022/1768 and 2022/1769 for information about the financial impact of the incident on Transport for London.

TfL Public Body Submission Retention Policy (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Will you commit to reviewing TfL’s retention policies for consultation submissions from public bodies, such as local authorities, and ensure that these documents are publicly accessible in full on a permanent basis?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has an existing policy in place where it provides a written summary of all consultation submissions from public bodies and other stakeholders, such as local authorities, in a publicly available Consultation Report at the conclusion of a consultation exercise. The Consultation Report also includes a summary of responses received from other respondents. Full responses are kept for at least two years after a Consultation Report has been published online.
I have asked TfL to consider whether it should review its current retention policy for full consultation submissions from public bodies to see if this is still fit for purpose.

22 May Fire at Metroline’s Potters Bar Bus Depot (3)

Keith Prince: On what date were Switch Mobility Metrodecker EV Buses returned to service for TfL?
Accordingly, please provide me with copies of:
1) Any final investigation report received by TfL upon which it made its decision to return the Switch Mobility Metrodecker EV Buses to service;
2) Any correspondence between TfL, Switch Mobility, Metroline and the relevant fire authority about the causes of the fire;
3) The executive order which allowed the Switch Mobility Metrodecker EV Buses to be returned to service in London.

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) contacted the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the agency of the Department for Transport which acts as Vehicle Safety regulator, on the morning of 23 May, to provide it with details of the incident to expedite its own investigations.
Switch presented the findings of its investigation to TfL on the morning of the 25 May, where TfL accepted the evidence that a conductive coolant was inadvertently added to the battery coolant system that was only designed to be used with a non-conductive substance.
TfL and the DVSA received the case for continued safe operation on the afternoon of the 26 May (copy attached) and were satisfied that appropriate mitigation measures were in place for the buses to return to service.

The Mayor: 2153 Appendix.docx

22 May Fire at Metroline’s Potters Bar Bus Depot (4)

Keith Prince: I think you will agree with me that electric buses turning into fireballs is concerning. Does TfL have copies of risk assessments from the bus companies which run electric buses, not just for their depots, but for passenger evacuations, including any wheelchair passengers on board? If so, please provide me with copies of these as well as any correspondence from TfL where these risk assessments were requested and/or reviewed.

The Mayor: All vehicles are subject to Vehicle Type Approval that is undertaken by the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) on behalf of the Department for Transport (DfT). This includes regulations on emergency exits. Drivers are trained to safely evacuate the vehicle, including wheelchair passengers.

22 May Fire at Metroline’s Potters Bar Bus Depot (5)

Keith Prince: A review of TfL’s press releases from 22 May to date shows that TfL has not released any public statement about the 22 May fire at Potters Bar Bus Depot. Do agree with me that this is further evidence of TfL’s complacency and exemplifies a lack of transparency about Surface Transport Safety Performance. If not, how can you explain TfL's lack of any public announcement about this major incident?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has responded to all media and stakeholder enquiries at every stage since the incident on 22 May and has been open and transparent regarding what happened.
It would not have been appropriate for TfL to make a public announcement before the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), the Agency of the Department for Transport which acts as Vehicle Safety regulator, published its final report.

Employment Disparities Across London (3)

Len Duvall: How are new opportunities being created in areas where there is currently less employment?

The Mayor: On the supply side, my skills and employment programmes provide Londoners across the capital with the learning and support they need to find good jobs and progress in their careers. Since taking control of the Adult Education Budget in 2019, I have supported around 550,000 Londoners to learn new skills. This included around 23,5000 learners in Brent, 21,700 learners in Enfield and 14,000 learners in Barking and Dagenham - boroughs which perform worse than average on a range of employment indicators. My Skills Academies and Skills Bootcamps programmes are also supporting unemployed and low paid Londoners, including those who face structural barriers to employment, to get the skills and support they need to find and progress into good jobs.
On the demand side, there is a lot of activity to support job creation from developing infrastructure, affordable workspace, business support programmes and other foundational arrangements that enable businesses to set up and grow, through to promoting London internationally to secure Foreign Direct Investment. Work across the GLA supports the full range of this activity with a plethora of programmes focusing on different industries as well as thematic areas such as markets and high streets, and parts of London in greatest need.

GLA funding and Employment Rights (2)

Len Duvall: A constituent has raised issues of poor employment practice arising from their involvement in a collective that received GLA funding. How will you ensure that those receiving funding from the GLA, including small enterprises, exercise good practice in how they treat volunteers and staff and how they deal with complaints?

The Mayor: I am concerned to hear that a worker may be experiencing poor employment practice from an organisation that has received GLA funding. A working group of officers at City Hall meet regularly to develop Grant Funding Guidance, including embedding best practice through London Living Wage and Good Work Standard where appropriate.
I am also collaborating with London’s Voluntary and Community Sector infrastructure partners to provide support for civil society organisations and sharing good practice in volunteering.

HMICFRS Inspection of London Fire Brigade (2)

Anne Clarke: For the February 2021 “Inspection of the London Fire Brigade’s progress to implement the recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry’s Phase 1 report” can you provide an update on the 4 Areas for improvement made in the report?

The Mayor: The findings from the report published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate for Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) in February 2021 reflected the good progress made by London Brigade (LFB), but was also clear that there was still work for the Brigade to do. The Brigade has now completed 26 out of the 29 recommendations directed specifically at LFB, other fire and rescue services and emergency services more widely. LFB is working to implement the remaining three recommendations as quickly as possible, setting out clear timingsfor the delivery of the remaining recommendations.
I saw the progress the Brigade has made first-hand when I visited a high-rise training exercise in May and remain committed to working with the London Fire Commissioner to ensure the remaining recommendations are implemented as soon as possible.My most recent progress report can be read here.

Police Helicopters

Unmesh Desai: I have received a number of complaints from members of the public on Brewer Street, so can you tell me on average how many Police helicopters are there flying over London per day and how often do they fly past Brewer Street?

The Mayor: The Met Police advise that it is not possible to indicate how many times a police helicopter has transited specifically over Brewer Street. The National Police Air Service (NPAS) spend limited time over central London due to the extensive CCTV network that can provide similar imagery overview.
However, I have been provided with the below information regarding deployments of NPAS helicopters to Westminster postcodes between January and May 2022 inclusive:
• January – 1
• February – 5
• March – 1
• April – 2
• May - 0

Empty shops in London (2)

Siân Berry: Thank you for your answer to my question 2021/4055. Could you provide me with an update on your progress on: “developing further mechanisms to share data and insights with boroughs,” as set out in your reply?

The Mayor: Specifically, the High Streets Data Service has been used by Borough staff for internal briefings, policy development and project development. It has been used to support the development of local Night time plans and as evidence for Article 4 Directions to removePermitted Development Rights in high street and town centreareas.

Membership of the police External Reference Group and Disproportionality Board

Caroline Russell: Thank you for your answer to my question 2022/0997. When will you publish the membership of your police External Reference Group and Disproportionality Board?

The Mayor: The process of recruiting to the External Reference Group is ongoing and details of the membership will be published once the appointments have been finalised.

Employment Disparities Across London (1)

Len Duvall: The Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research’s recent report ‘The Real Level of Unemployment 2022’ highlights the regional disparities in unemployment figures. What assessment has been made of employment variation across London both at a ward level and a council level?

The Mayor: The latest Local Skills Report for London was published in February 2022. The annexes present a range of analysis on the labour market across London, including local variation in employment and claimant count rates, and in the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
Claimant count data for London boroughs is also updated monthly on the London Datastore. This regular output provides an in-depth and timely look at the number of people claiming unemployment-related benefits at local authority level. As noted in the Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research report, this measure includes claimants who are not in paid work, but also some people who are in work on low incomes.
More granular analysis of employment variation in London will be possible using results from the 2021 Census. Relevant Census outputs are due to be published in Winter 2022.

Employment Disparities Across London (2)

Len Duvall: Have any areas of London been identified as having significant disparities? Please list if so and explain how this conclusion has been reached.

The Mayor: Employment disparities will differ depending on which indicators are used. So, it is important not to rely on any one single metric.
There are areas of London that perform worse than average on a range of relevant indicators (for example, the 16-64 employment rate, claimant count rate and ILO unemployment rate). These include outer London boroughs in north and east London such as Brent, Enfield and Barking & Dagenham. These are also areas with above average rates of ‘real unemployment’ according to the report cited in MQ 2022/2006.
Employment disparities are not only at borough level, however, there is also variation in outcomes within boroughs, at ward or even neighbourhood level. More granular analysis of employment variation across London will be possible using results from the 2021 Census. Relevant Census outputs are expected to be published in Winter 2022.

The Mayor: Employment disparities will differ depending on which indicators are used. So, it is important not to rely on any one single metric.
There are areas of London that perform worse than average on a range of relevant indicators (for example, the 16-64 employment rate, claimant count rate and ILO unemployment rate). These include outer London boroughs in north and east London such as Brent, Enfield and Barking & Dagenham. These are also areas with above average rates of ‘real unemployment’ according to the report cited in MQ 2022/2006.
Employment disparities are not only at borough level, however, there is also variation in outcomes within boroughs, at ward or even neighbourhood level. More granular analysis of employment variation across London will be possible using results from the 2021 Census. Relevant Census outputs are expected to be published in Winter 2022.

Levelling Up and London (1)

Len Duvall: Rising prices have made the Government’s plans to reduce regional inequalities more challenging according to the Minister for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. How will this impact on deprived areas of London?

The Mayor: The cost of living crisis will have a severe economic cost for Londoners. It will most affect those on the lowest incomes, who are more likely to live in deprived areas, consequently widening the existing inequalities within the capital.
Across the UK, Office for National Statistics (ONS) data from the Living Costs and Food Survey shows that the lowest ten percent of households by income devote double the share of their spending to food and energy than the top ten percent of households. Prices for these key essentials are rising rapidly: ONS Consumer Price Index data show that food inflation is at its highest since 2009 and energy prices are up by more than two thirds from a year ago.
Meanwhile, the increase in National Insurance contributions comes as HMRC Real-Time Indicators show that the lowest-paid sectors have seen the weakest wage recovery from the pandemic. Furthermore, welfare benefits are rising less than inflation - and Department of Work and Pensions data shows that London has the highest share of its population on Universal Credit of any region.

Levelling Up and London (2)

Len Duvall: What does ‘Levelling Up’ mean for London?

The Mayor: I want London to play its part in supporting levelling up throughout the country as the economic fortunes of the capital and the rest of the country are interdependent. London’s growth helps all regions of the UK.
Alongside that growth, however, we also see stark inequalities, so whilst London has the highest incomes of any UK region, it also has the highest poverty rate. The need to level up within London underpins delivery of my priorities and programmes, but I’m also pushing government for a fair share of support for London.
This means getting our fair share of funding for levelling up, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Levelling Up Fund, but also seeking smarter ways to use and integrate all funding streams to do more for Londoners. It also means making the case for more devolution of the powers that can allow us to level up in London.

Loan Sharks

Onkar Sahota: A man has been arrested on suspicion of illegal money lending and money laundering offences, following raids by the England Illegal Money Lending Team and the Metropolitan Police Service in Ealing. Ealing Council says that help is available for people with money or debt problems from the National Debt Line, Step Change, Debt Advice Network and Money Advice service. Can the Mayor help get the word out there about these sources of advice, so that people do not resort to loan sharks?

The Mayor: Illegal money lending is a serious problem. In current economic circumstances, it is incredibly important that Londoners do not fall prey to ‘loan sharks’.
In April, I launched the Cost of Living Hub, an online resource for Londoners struggling with the rising cost of living. The hub includes a dedicated section with advice on how to deal with problem debt. It provides links to information on alternatives to payday loans and details of where to get advice for those struggling with payday loan debt.
I also invested in Debt Free London, a partnership of charities that provides free advice to Londoners with problem debt. Their advisors support Londoners with all types of money worries - from rent and council tax arrears, to credit card and catalogue debt. Between February and March, Debt Free London operated a mobile advice bus which travelled around providing free advice across the city.

TfL Public Body Submission Retention Policy (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: How do you expect Londoners to have full confidence in TfL’s management and processes if they are unable to access consultation responses, such as those from local authorities, due to TfL’s short timeframe for document retention?

The Mayor: Transport for London considers consultation responses in full during its decision-making process, with raw response data kept for at least two years after a Consultation Report has been published online. As mentioned in my response to Mayor’s Question 2022/1764, a written summary of responses from stakeholders, including any local authorities, is provided in a Consultation Report at the conclusion of a consultation exercise.

Cycle hangars

Elly Baker: Following MQ 2021/1609 can you provide an update on how many cycle hangers have been provided to date and when you expect to have delivered all 5,000?

The Mayor: I pledged in my 2021 manifesto to install 5,000 new cycle hangars to overcome the lack of secure residential cycle parking, one of the key barriers preventing Londoners to take up cycling. Transport for London (TfL) has funded the delivery of 1,812 secure residential cycle parking spaces (equivalent to 302 cycle hangars) since 2020/21 through its Healthy Streets investment programme. However, London boroughs deliver additional secure residential cycle parking via other funding sources (e.g. parking revenue).
Prior to 2020/21 and since the publication of the Cycle Parking Implementation Plan in Summer 2019, TfL has funded the installation of another 3,600 secure residential cycle parking spaces (equivalent to 600 cycle hangars).
TfL’s aspiration is to work with boroughs to support the installation of 5,000 new cycle hangars between 2021 and 2025. However, the pace of delivery is dependent on securing a long-term funding agreement with the Government.
TfL continue to make the case for investment in cycling infrastructure and will continue to support London boroughs in accelerating the delivery of secure residential cycle parking.

Bus Fires (1)

Elly Baker: Please share the results of the investigation into the 22 May 2022 fire on the Switch Mobility MetroDecker EV, that led to their removal from service.

The Mayor: Buses were removed from service on the recommendation of the manufacturer, Switch Mobility, on 23 May pending further investigation.
The investigation identified evidence that a conductive coolant was inadvertently added to the battery coolant system that was designed to only be used with a non-conductive substance.
Buses were reintroduced to the network from 26 May with mitigation measures in place to prevent reoccurrence. Please see my answer to question 2022/2153 for further information.

TfL Commercial Property Company (3)

Sakina Sheikh: What hurdles do you anticipate TfL’s commercial property company will face?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has established a commercial property company, TTL Properties Limited (TTLP). TTLP has plans to deliver 20,000 homes over the next ten years. It has made a positive start and is currently building 1,700 homes, with a further 2,400 homes scheduled to come forward this year.
TTLP is facing the same issues as much of the construction industry, including disruption and delays caused by the pandemic and Brexit, including a labour shortage and rising construction costs. In the case of TTLP, there is an added challenge that building largely on existing TfL land, which tends to be above and around the transport network, creates additional cost and complexity to projects. Despite this, TTLP is delivering 50 per cent affordable housing across its programme.

Community-led Pride events (2)

Zack Polanski: You recently announced that community-led organisations will be able to apply for the next round of funding to run London’s Pride celebrations for the next five years. Will one of the requirements of a winning bid be that the celebration needs to generate income?

The Mayor: The existing five-year funding agreement to run Pride ends after the event in July, following which community-led organisations will be able to apply for up to £625,000 to deliver London’s iconic Pride events between 2023-2027. The contribution of £125,000 per year for five years will need to be enhanced with additional income to deliver a safe, inclusive and world-class event that showcases London in all its diversity.
Additional income and sponsorship will likely include the fees paid by groups marching in the parade, and through traders, caterers and other sources of income that can be generated from the event. Pride is also supported by seeking further sponsorship.
As part of the GLA’s support, the fees for the use of Trafalgar Square are waived and the GLA events team provide support also.

Community-led Pride events (1)

Zack Polanski: You recently announced that community-led organisations will be able to apply for the next round of funding to run London’s Pride celebrations for the next five years. Could you detail the criteria and selection process that will be used to decide which organisations and groups get funding?

The Mayor: London’s annual Pride celebrations are not only the UK’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender event and parade, but some of the biggest in the world, attracting Londoners and visitors from across the UK and around the globe.
This year Pride will enliven our streets on Saturday 2 July, and I’m looking forward to celebrating the 50th year since the first Pride took place in the UK.
The existing five-year funding agreement to run Pride ends after this year’s event, following which community-led organisations will be able to apply for City Hall financial support to deliver London’s iconic Pride events between 2023 and 2027.
The tender process will be open between July and September, and the successful community applicant must be able to demonstrate they are capable of organising and delivering an inclusive Pride parade through central London, as well as a representative programme of events and entertainment in Trafalgar Square.
Pride belongs to everyone in London and will be run by those at the heart of LGBTQ+ communities. Funding from City Hall will empower community-led groups to deliver a safe, inclusive and world-class event that showcases London in all its diversity. The open tender process will require bidders to demonstrate their ability to do this.
Bidders will need to respond to specific criteria, which will be assessed by GLA officers, community members and key partners.
The bids will be assessed on applicants’ experience and knowledge in key areas such as engagement with London’s diverse LGBTQ+ communities, event operations, health, safety, security, finance and governance. Further details of the requirements and the assessment process will be provided soon.

Pride 1972 veterans leading Pride parade

Zack Polanski: This year, the Pride 1972 veterans will be marching in the London Pride parade. You usually lead it, but this year will you step back and march behind them?

The Mayor: The Gay Liberation Front was at the forefront of the fight for LGBT rights and the original Pride marches, and so it is right, that 50 years on, they are again at the forefront of London’s Pride celebrations leading the Parade.

Just Space Community-Led Recovery Plan: effective consultation

Zack Polanski: In the April 2022 publication, Community-Led Recovery Plan for London, Just Space outlined that the participation of local communities in planning activities is often undertaken too late and functions as: “notification in the guise of consultation.” How do you define the difference between consulting with members of a community and notifying them?

The Mayor: A consultation is an exercise seeking views and opinions from the community or any interested party, where their involvement can have an impact on or help inform a decision. A notification is just advising a party of something as a matter of fact.
In my 2022 manifesto, I committed to finding better ways for communities to be involved in decisions that impact them, specifically in planning. In our communications about planning activities and other areas we are always clear whether these are notifications or consultation. We value consultation feedback, for example in relation to draft planning guidance or planning applications, which provides insights and information which helps inform decision-making. In relation to referable planning applications where I am the decision-maker, the views of consultees both through written submissions and at hearings helps me reach my decision in accordance with my planning powers. We will continue to explore and develop way in which to improve our planning consultations.

Hosting Eurovision 2023 in London

Zack Polanski: Given the success of ABBA Voyage opening in London, will you consider supporting London as the host for Eurovision 2023 if our friends in Ukraine may not be able to?

The Mayor: Londoners would welcome Eurovision with open arms. We’re ready to step up and support Ukraine by hosting a contest that pays tribute to and honours the Ukrainian people, and also celebrates the very best of Britain too.

Adult Education Budget: collaboration with councils

Zack Polanski: In your response to question 2022/1536, you stated that the Government must: “channel additional resources to councils to make better use of their existing powers, including addressing skills gaps and staff shortages.” But how are you using your Adult Education Budget (AEB) to help councils address the skills gaps they face while providing vital services for Londoners?

The Mayor: AEB funding supports a considerable range of training from basic skills in English, maths and digital, to vocational training, including skills relevant to working in council services. All AEB providers must work with local councils to inform delivery plans and my priorities for skills are developed in consultation with London’s boroughs. London boroughs collectively also receive an AEB allocation of £68,485,080 per annum to provide training to residents.
The AEB specifically targets Londoners who are unemployed or in low-paid work to help them into good jobs that pay the London Living Wage. I have made the AEB more accessible, widening access to training for tens of thousands of Londoners in-low paid work. I have also enabled more free training at Level 3, widening the pool of skilled Londoners that the boroughs can recruit from.

Updating the Good Work Standard to include Long Covid strategy

Zack Polanski: The Bank of England has announced that the proportion of the population aged 16-64 who are not in work, and do not want a job because of long-term sickness, is at a record high. It suspects much of this rise is owing to impacts of the pandemic, including Long Covid and the increase in NHS waiting lists. Will you consider adding requirements to help support employees with Long Covid into your Good Work Standard, such as employers developing a Long Covid strategy or supporting employee Workplace Adjustment Passports?

The Mayor: My Good Work Standard includes pillars on Workplace Wellbeing and Diversity and Recruitment, requiring accredited employers to make adequate adjustments for employees experiencing long-term medical conditions such as Long Covid.
Excellent health and wellbeing employment practices include monitoring of absence trends to provide support to employees, having a health and wellbeing strategy in place with measurable objectives, and promoting broader health services to employees. The criteria of the Good Work Standard are regularly reviewed. While there is not currently a criterion which reflects Long Covid, I welcome the suggestion and my team will explore it alongside how employers can be supported to develop relevant policies.

Waking Watches and London’s Boroughs

Anne Clarke: Please provide a borough-by-borough breakdown of the number of buildings operating waking watches in London. Please also breakdown the numbers for buildings over 18m and under 18m in each borough.

The Mayor: London Fire Brigade (LFB) collects data for buildings with a temporary suspension of ‘stay put’ where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place. This includes, but is not limited to, waking watches, which the National Fire Chiefs Council guidance defines as a system where ‘suitably trained persons continually patrol all floors and the exterior perimeter of the building in order to detect a fire, raise the alarm, and carry out the role of evacuation management’.Residential buildings with an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy in place could have personnel on site or a remote monitoring system, but this is determined by the Responsible Person with guidancefroma competent fire safety professional.
The figures can changeon a daily basiswhen interim measures are required, or a building is remediated and no longer requires the interim measures. The number of buildings where an interim simultaneous evacuation strategy has been put in place, asof15th June 2022, are presented by borough and by height in the table below.
Local Authority
Total blocks
Over 18 metres
Under 18 metres
Barking and Dagenham
23
15
8
Barnet
29
16
13
Bexley
3
3
0
Brent
48
30
18
Bromley
5
3
2
Camden
35
30
5
City of London
3
2
1
Croydon
36
21
15
Ealing
20
12
8
Enfield
3
2
1
Greenwich
73
63
10
Hackney
87
69
18
Hammersmith and Fulham
11
9
2
Haringey
18
12
6
Harrow
4
3
1
Havering
14
8
6
Hillingdon
16
10
6
Hounslow
22
16
6
Islington
63
33
30
Kensington and Chelsea
20
11
9
Kingston upon Thames
4
4
0
Lambeth
51
36
15
Lewisham
46
30
16
Merton
4
3
1
Newham
75
70
5
Redbridge
12
10
2
Richmond
1
1
0
Southwark
98
76
22
Sutton
21
7
14
Tower Hamlets
165
153
12
Waltham Forest
24
24
0
Wandsworth
28
23
5
Westminster
37
34
3
Total
1099
839
260

Oxford Street (1)

Tony Devenish: Would the Mayor like to see Oxford Street restored to its former glory as the premier shopping street in Europe?

The Mayor: Yes. A prosperous West End helps drives our economy, but it’s very clear that we face challenges that have been exacerbated and accelerated by the covid pandemic.
The opening of the Elizabeth line and my new £10 million international tourism campaign will make a big difference to Oxford Street, as did last year’s Let’s Do London campaign; that brought an additional £81m and 330,000 visitors to the capital.
I know that Councillor Hug and the new Labour administration at Westminster City Council want to deliver much-needed change too. The recent decisive action by Westminster trading standards officers, involving the seizure of counterfeit and illegal goods from the proliferating ‘American Candy Shops’ on Oxford Street represents an important step.
I will continue to work with businesses and leaders in London government to ensure that Oxford Street remains a pre-eminent destination for tourists and Londoners in years to come.

Pride is a protest

Zack Polanski: Thank you for taking action on opening up the running of Pride to grassroots organisations, after my lobbying with Peter Tatchell and others. What proactive support are you offering to diverse community groups to help them bid to run London’s Pride celebrations?

The Mayor: Pride belongs to everyone in London, it deserves to be run by those at the heart of London’s LGBTQ+ communities. Funding from City Hall will empower those community-led groups to deliver a safe, inclusive and world-class event that showcases London’s diversity.
The successful community applicant must be able to demonstrate they are capable of organising and delivering an inclusive Pride parade through central London, as well as a representative programme of events and entertainment in Trafalgar Square.
My team are currently working with LGBTQ+ community groups to develop the tender documents and as part of this work we are considering how we provide support to those who are interested in bidding. More information will be made available to the community as part of the tender process.

Intelligent Speed Assistance (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: How many of TfL’s buses have so far been fitted with Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA)?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has 2,075 buses fitted with Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) technology. A further 813 buses are currently in the final stage of having ISA installed, which will be activated over the next few weeks.

London Recovery Board

Krupesh Hirani: How has the London Recovery Board helped businesses and venues in Brent and Harrow?

The Mayor: The London Recovery Board (LRB) has agreed an Economic Recovery Framework (ERF), jointly developed by London Councils and the GLA, which sets out the priority areas for action for partners across London.
ERF implementation plans ensure co-ordination of support to businesses and venues, including the co-design of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which has a specific funding stream for business support.
My London Business Hub, supported by the LRB, provides one-to-one advice and a programme of online events to support small and medium sized businesses in all boroughs including Brent and Harrow.
At its March meeting the LRB heard from the community in Church End High Street in Brent about the impact the High Streets for All mission is having on their local businesses. The Good Work for All Mission is supporting Londoners into skilled health industry jobs in Brent and Harrow, through a Mayor’s Academies Programme Hub delivered by the North West London Health Care Partnership.

Reporting hate crime on transport services

Caroline Russell: In future editions of the Transport for London (TfL) Crime Bulletin, will you report each kind of hate crime (antisemitic, disability, faith, homophobic, Islamophobic, racist, religious, and transgender hate crime) separately as the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) does on its hate crime dashboard?

The Mayor: Transport for London intends to include a breakdown of hate crime in future publications of its crime bulletin.

Terminal Drop Off Charge (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide the monetary value of 100% discounts from the Terminal Drop Off Charge (TDOC) for TfL-licensed taxis which were granted between 1 November 2021 and 1 April 2022, broken down by month?

The Mayor: The decision to introduce a terminal drop off charge for taxis was made by Heathrow Airport Limited.
Transport for London (TfL) receives some data from taxi trade representatives, on an ad-hoc basis, which show the number of taxis that enter the Heathrow Feeder Park. TfL does not have access to any data for the number of London-licensed taxis that accessed terminal buildings in the period you have requested.

Policing Football (2)

Unmesh Desai: How many times were hate crimes reported in football stadiums in the most recent year?

The Mayor: 1998_Policing Football.xlsx

Works at Holborn Gyratory

Caroline Pidgeon: What specific actions have been taken by (a) TfL and (b) Camden Council in relation to making Holborn Gyratory safe for cyclists during the month of May?

The Mayor: At the junction of Southampton Row and Theobalds Road, construction work has continued - including the installation of further ducting and cabling to enable the new traffic signals to be installed. Construction is planned to conclude this summer.
Further design work has taken place at High Holborn, Drake Street and Procter Street, with close collaboration between Camden Council and Transport for London (TfL) to refine options – with the aim of providing a safer layout for cyclists.

The Mayor: At the junction of Southampton Row and Theobalds Road, construction work has continued - including the installation of further ducting and cabling to enable the new traffic signals to be installed. Construction is planned to conclude this summer.
Further design work has taken place at High Holborn, Drake Street and Procter Street, with close collaboration between Camden Council and Transport for London (TfL) to refine options – with the aim of providing a safer layout for cyclists.

Intelligent Speed Assistance (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Are you confident that TfL is going to meet its target to roll out Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) across its entire bus fleet by 2032?

The Mayor: Yes, I am confident that Transport for London (TfL) will have rolled out Intelligent Speed Assistance (ISA) across the entire bus fleet by 2032.
Almost 3,000 buses have been fitted with ISA or in the process of being fitted with ISA. The remainder of the fleet will receive ISA through the bus renewal cycle by 2032. However, the rate of roll out of ISA may be increased as an additional 1,800 buses are in scope for retrofitting the technology should further funding become available. The rate of delivery may also benefit from other policy levers such as increasing the number of zero emission buses in the fleet.

Affordable homes retrofit

Andrew Boff: Of the GLA-funded affordable homes completed in the year 2021/22, how many will need to be retrofitted in future?

The Mayor: The GLA does not typically monitor the energy efficiency of homes funded via the Affordable Homes Programme post-completion, and we do not yet have certainty on what the future threshold will be for homes to require retrofitting. It is therefore not possible to quantify the number of homes completed in 2021/22 that may require future retrofit or the associated cost.
My Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026 introduces a range of new sustainability standards, which reflect London Plan 2021 requirements. Adherence to these standards will mean new affordable homes funded by the Mayor go beyond building regulation requirements, meet the highest environmental standards and will minimise the need for these homes to be retrofitted in the future.
The GLA is also introducing a new post-occupancy evaluation pilot as part of the new Affordable Homes Programme 2021-2026, which will require some delivery partners to monitor the energy efficiency of GLA-funded homes post-completion. The London Plan’s Be Seen Energy Monitoring policy also requires new major developments tomonitor energy performancefor five years followingconstruction.

Homes for Londoners Land Fund (1)

Emma Best: Which housing schemes have received an investment from the Land Fund to date?

The Mayor: The current projects which are being funded by the Land Fund to facilitate the delivery of housing are:

Dog and Cat Meat Trade in South Korea

Caroline Pidgeon: I have been contacted by a number of people with concerns about the dog and cat meat trade in South Korea, many of which highlight the Friendship City Agreement you signed with Seoul's Mayor, Park Won-soon, in 2017. Further to my question 2017/3096, what representations have you made to the Mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, about eliminating these barbaric practices?

The Mayor: My international engagement focuses on attracting businesses, tourists, students, entrepreneurs and investment to London, as well as sharing expertise and best practice on predominantly urban issues, including the need to improve our air quality, reduce inequalities, and responding to climate change.
I would encourage concerned individuals and groups to work with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which I understand has engaged with South Korean authorities on this issue in the past.

Affordable homes (2)

Andrew Boff: Of the GLA-funded affordable homes started in the year 2021/22, how many had three bedrooms or more?

The Mayor: The submission of bedroom data is not mandatory in our systems and therefore we are only able to provide information on bedroom size where it has been reported. Based on the information reported in our systems 2,799 homes that started in 2021-22 were 3 bedrooms or more. This is a partial picture and the number of larger homes started last year could potentially be higher.

airTEXT Review

Hina Bokhari: With reference to your commitment to institute a review to enhance the reach of the airTEXT system in question 2022/1428, please provide a timeline for when you expect this work to be completed.

The Mayor: We are undertaking a review of the messaging and reach of the Mayor’s Air Quality Alerts System, not the airTEXT service which is delivered externally by CERC (Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants) on behalf of boroughs. The aim of the Mayor’s Alerts System is to provide advance warning of pollution episodes across a variety of channels, and it is being reviewed to make it even more effective.
We expect the review of the Mayor’s Air Quality Alerts System to be complete and any changes made by the end of this year. We are working with NHS and Public Health colleagues to refine and test messaging and increase the reach of alerts into targeted Healthcare settings such as GPs and cardio-respiratory specialist centres.

Impact of the Equalities Team on Metropolitan Police Service vetting

Caroline Russell: What role does the Equalities Team play within the Vetting Department of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), and what impact does it have on vetting prospective recruits?

The Mayor: The role of the Equality team is to support underrepresented applicants through the vetting process. This includes explaining what is required and why, and answering any questions they may have. The key aims of this are to demystify the vetting process and build confidence.
The Equality team works collaboratively with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) recruitment Outreach teams to engage with potential applicants. The Equality teams also has a role, alongside other MPS stakeholders, as part of the vetting reviews panel.
Since its establishment, there has been an improvement in the number of officer applicants passing the Police National Computer (PNC) Sift Stage, positive impact and applicant testimonies from recruitment events that the equality team have attended, and a decrease in the number of applicants being refused vetting for non-declaration reasons.

Park Lane Cycle Lane (2)

Tony Devenish: When do you expect to make a final decision on whether to retain or amend the Park Lane Cycle Lane?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor’s Question 2022/2255.

Landlord licensing schemes

Siân Berry: During the London Assembly Housing Committee investigation into London’s private rented sector in March 2022, we heard that introducing selective landlord licensing schemes is onerous and costly for boroughs. What work are you doing to support boroughs seeking to bring in these schemes, and how are you working to ensure consistency across London?

The Mayor: The cost and legal risks associated with introducing selective licensing schemes in London currently prohibit many boroughs from making full use of this vital tool to improve standards. My team are currently engaging with Department for Housing, Levelling Up and Communities officials on the devolution of powers to approve licensing schemes to City Hall, as part of the Levelling Up White Paper process.
If these powers were to be devolved to me, I have always been clear that there is a strong case for every privately rented property in London to be licensed. I would encourage councils to do this by improving and streamlining the process of introducing selective licensing across London. I would also work with councils to support the creation of effective, well-designed and properly enforced schemes.

Environment and Air Quality

Krupesh Hirani: Can the Mayor provide details of the air quality and pollution levels for the stretch of Harrow Road from Ealing Road to Sudbury roundabout in Wembley?
Please provide readings from each of the previous five years.

The Mayor: The London Borough of Brent monitors nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by diffusion tube at 2 sites in the vicinity of this stretch of Harrow Road: BRT53 located at High Road Wembley and site 2 located at Harrow Road/Sudbury Court Drive. There are no continuous monitoring sites along this stretch of road or in the near vicinity.
Appendix 1 gives the monitoring results. Due to the action I have taken on air pollution since 2016, there was a 36% reduction of NO2 at site 2 and a 46% reduction at site BRT53 between 2016 and 2021.
All of Brent’s air quality monitoring results are available on the local authority’s website: https://www.brent.gov.uk/environment/air-quality/air-quality-reports

The Mayor: MQ 2038 Appendix 1.xlsx

Helping Disabled Victims of Crime

Krupesh Hirani: At my recent meeting with Brent Mencap Disability Rights and Politics Group, we discussed the issue of safety and crime in London.
What measures are the Metropolitan Police taking to engage with disabled Londoners to improve their confidence when it comes to reporting crime?

The Mayor: Improving trust and confidence in the police is an absolute priority for me and I have been clear that the incoming Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) must have a clear plan to tackle the serious cultural issues within the Met Police and to regain the trust of Londoners.
The MPS consults regularly with the Disability Independent Advisory Group on projects and policy changes, aimed at improving confidence, outcomes and the experience of disabled Londoners. Further to this, as part of its restructured response to hate crime, the MPS has established a disability hate crime working group, with disability community members, to explore how to increase the confidence to report. It has also undertaken consultation on the STRIDE Strategy 2021-25, which has specific pledges to increase trust and confidence amongst disabled communities.
To underpin the MPS efforts, MOPAC has established a new hate crime Stakeholder Reference Group, to ensure that the voices of those communities targeted by hate crime, which includes disability groups, inform the MPS and MOPAC response. Finally, the enlarged CATCH consortium that delivers the pan-London Hate Crime Victims Service, includes three disability support organisations who can support victims of disability hate crime, including with third-party reporting.

Homelessness and Disabled Londoners

Krupesh Hirani: At my recent meeting with Brent Mencap Disability Rights and Politics Group, we discussed the issue of homelessness in London.
Does the Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN), record data on how many Londoners with learning and/or physical disabilities are sleeping rough on the capital’s streets? If so, can you provide a breakdown of these numbers over the last three years.

The Mayor: Yes, CHAIN does record data on the number of Londoners with a learning or physical disability seen rough sleeping. The numbers over each of the last three years are as follows:
2019/2020
839
2020/2021
871
2021/2022
786

Specially Adapted Homes for Disabled Londoners

Krupesh Hirani: How are you working through your Affordable Homes Programme to provide specially adapted homes for disabled people?

The Mayor: Both of my Affordable Homes Programmes require schemes with 10+ homes to have at least 10 per cent of homes to meet Building Regulation M4(3) requirements for wheelchair user dwellings. All other new build homes within the development should meet Building Regulation M4(2) requirement for accessible and adaptable dwellings.
I also fund specialist and supported housing under both programmes for different client groups, including people with physical, sensory and/or learning disabilities. To access funding, providers need to demonstrate how the homes will be designed or adapted to meet residents’ needs.
Finally, I also support the delivery of affordable homes for people with disabilities through my Care and Support Specialised Housing programme.

Mental Health Assessments in Police Custody

Krupesh Hirani: Can you provide a breakdown of the number of people held in custody by the Metropolitan Police who have been given a mental health assessment over the last five years?

The Mayor: Please see attached the requested information. The supplied notes page should be read in conjunction with the data to aid in interpretation. The information provided is the total Mental Health Assessments (MHA) carried out between January 2017 and May 2022.
Please note that the fields related to these assessments were only introduced on the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) custody system towards the end of 2017 and therefore that year has only a partial data set.

The Mayor: 2033_Mental Health Assessments in Police Custody (1).xlsx

Young Londoners Fund and Young People with Disabilities

Krupesh Hirani: How is the Young Londoners Fund helping young people with physical and learning disabilities?

The Mayor: Young Londoners have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, especially those, including young people with disabilities, that face the biggest challenges and experience structural inequalities. I am committed to ensuring that these young people, and others most in need, have access to the best opportunities our city has to offer to help them to thrive.
To date my Young Londoners Fund (YLF) has supported over 120,000 young Londoners, 21,600* (18%) of whom reported having special educational needs or a disability. Young people with disabilities can be more at risk of exclusion or exploitation which is why YLF projects such as ‘KIDS’ support young disabled people aged 14-21 in Wandsworth to reduce their isolation and make positive life choices by engaging in sports, arts, and community activities. I am also proud of how the YLF has funded Whizz Kids who lead the way in empowering young people who use wheelchairs to achieve their goal of making London youth services accessible and inclusive.
*Please note not all young people who participate in YLF projects disclose their support needs or disability status, therefore the percentage is likely to be higher.

Health Sector Businesses and London Living Wage

Krupesh Hirani: How many businesses in the health sector in the capital are paying the London Living Wage?

The Mayor: There are 115 London-based organisations in the health and care sectors accredited with the Living Wage Foundation. Of these, 64 are private sector, 34 public sector, and 17 third sector.
Health and social care is a priority sector action-strand in the Making London a Living Wage City Programme. An action plan on how uptake will be increased up to 2024 will be published during Living Wage Week this November.

London Healthy Workplace Charter

Krupesh Hirani: How many businesses have been accredited under the London Healthy Workplace Charter?

The Mayor: The London Healthy Workplace Award (LHWA), formerly known as the London Healthy Workplace Charter, accredited over 340 businesses with a Micro, Communal Workspace, Foundation, Achievement or Excellence Award. This covered over 400,000 employees.